Mr-i 



About ike IBab 




ilimim 



ymr 



I 



*A 




Class _(73Vl 
Book /^.'S 

Ccpiglit'N? 

CSEnUCHT DEPOSm 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

TUBERCULAR TROUBLES 
HOW TO GROW FAT, 
ALSO OVERCOME DISEASE 



BY 

ADA M ALBERTY, M. T. D. 



FIRST EDITION 



LOWMAX & HAN FORD CO., Publishers 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 

1912 






©C!.A330^93 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Chap. 1. A Word to Mothers 17 

Chap. 2. Marrjdng Without Knowledge 19 

Chap. 3. Pregnancy: 

The Morning Sickness 22 

Quickening Period 22 

Changes in System and Disposition ... 23 

Rest, Bathing and Exercise 24 

Care of Vagina 24 

Urine 24 

Constipation 25 

Care of the Teeth 26 

Enlargement of the Abdomen 27 

Duration of Pregnancy 27 

Sex of Child 27 

Chap. 4. Diet in Pregnancy: 

Strange Cravings 30 

Chap. 5. Maternal Impressions 30 

Chap. 6. Miscarriage 32 

Chap. 7. Abortion 34 

Chap. 8. Baby's First Clothing 38 

Chap. 9. Necessities to Prepare Before Labor: 

Sanitary Napkins 41 

Chap. 10. Painless Childbirth 41 

Chap. 11. Signs of Approaching Labor: 

Preparation for Labor 44 

Chap. 12. When the Physician is Absent. . 45 

Chap. 13. Care of Mother After Confinement: 

Urinating 50 

Soreness and Bloating 51 

Irrigation 51 

Care of Genital Organs 52 

Rest After Confinement 52 

Breasts 53 

Bathing 54 

Care of the Bed 54 

Chap. 14. Care of Infant After Delivery: 

The Navel Cord 58 



6 Table of Contents 

PAGE 

Chap. 15. Premature and Abnormal Children: 

Abnormal Infants 60 

Apparent Death 62 

Chap. 16. Care of Genital Organs: 

Male Children 64 

After Circumcision 65 

Chap. 17. The Nursing Mother: 

How to Have Milk 66 

How to Hold the Child 68 

Drying up Breast Milk 68 

Different Methods of Feeding 68 

Chap. 18. Unsuccessful Nursing 69 

Chap. 19. First Days of Nursing: 

How Infants Generally Act 74 

Chap. 20. Inability to Nurse: 

When Nursing Should Not be At- 
tempted 75 

Chap. 21. Why Milk Fails to Come: 

Proper Periods of Nursing 77 

Lack of Milk Supply. 79 

Chap. 22. Mixed Feeding and the Bottle: 

Getting Baby to Take the Bottle 81 

The Hole in Baby's Nipple 82 

Proper Feeding Temperature 82 

Chap. 23. Importance of Weighing Baby 83 

Chap. 24. Babv's Exercise 85 

Chap. 25. Care of Baby's Eyes 89 

Chap. 26. Adenoids— The Pacifier 91 

Chap. 27. The Cat and the Baby 92 

Chap. 28. Bathing and the Scalp: 

Oil Baths 93 

Care of Scalp 94 

Chap. 29. Flannel A Fad 95 

Chap. 30. Letting Baby Cry It Out 96 

Chap. 31. Colic 98 

Chap. 32. Night Feeding .• 100 

Chap. 33. Sore Buttocks 103 

Chap. 34. Baby's Stool in Health and Disease 104 

Chap. 35. Ignorance 107 

Chap. 36. Critical Age of Infancy 112 

Chap. 37. Experimenting With Baby — The Decline, 116 

Chap. 38. So-called Overfeeding Baby 120 

Chap. 39. Starvation Diet for Babies and Adults: 

Starvation Schedule for Babies 127 



Table of Contents 7 

PAGE 

Chap. 40. Starvation Fever 131 

Chap. 41. Nervousness in Babies 132 

Chap. 42. Vomiting: 

Habitual Vomiting 134 

Chap. 43. Blood, Purpose and Upbuilding 140 

Chap. 44. Anemia 141 

Chap. 45. Chronic Diarrhoea 143 

Chap. 46. Constipation 145 

Chap. 47. Sore Mouth 149 

Chap. 48. Eczema 151 

Chap. 49. Rickets — ^Bone Starvation 153 

Chap. 50. Scurvy 157 

Chap. 51. Infant's Gastric Capacity: 

Gastric Capacity and Growth 164 

Correct Schedule for Feeding 165 

Chap. 52. Sugar and Salt for Baby: 

Sugar for Adults 169 

Salt 171 

Other Articles 171 

Chap. 53. Climb to Health 172 

Chap. 54. Teething: 

Actions of a Teething Baby 177 

Loss of Appetite 177 

Urine 178 

Teething Diarrhoea 179 

The Skin 179 

Shedding the Teeth 179 

Chap. 55. Important Things to Remember 180 

Chap. 56. ''Patented" Baby Foods and Medicines. . 185 

Chap. 57. Testing Prepared Food and Cow's Milk. . 187 
Chap. 58. Modification of Milk: 

Certified Milk 191 

Chap. 59. Milk as a Cure for Disease 192 

Chap. 60. Milk as a Food for Infants: 

Why Modifications of Milk Fail 195 

Chap. 61. Discovery of the Real Substitute 196 

Chap. 62. Care of Milk: 

Pasteurizing Milk at Home 203 

Home-made Refrigerator 204 

Chap. 63. Sour Milk and Summer Complaint 205 

Chap. 64. Care of Baby During Summer 209 

Chap. 65. Weaning Baby 211 

Chap. 66. When Baby Begins to Eat 213 

Chap. 67. What Baby Should and Should Not Eat. . 216 



8 Table of Contents 

PAGE 

Chap. 68. Adult Foods 218 

Chap. 69. What Food Does 221 

Chap. 70. The Intestinal Tract 224 

Chap. 71. Gastric Digestion 224 

Chap. 72. Intestinal Digestion 228 

Chap. 73. Assimilation of Food 229 

Chap. 74. Vital Necessity of Fresh Air 230 

Chap. 75. Use of Water 232 

Chap. 76. Water Cures: 

Indigestion 236 

Drinking at Meals 237 

Chap. 77. Value of the Bath 238 

Chap. 78. Tubercular Trouble: 

Treatment 240 

Spittum 242 

Chap. 79. Value of Hvpophosphites 242 

Chap. 80. Loss of Appetite 243 

Chap. 81. How to Grow Fat, also Overcome Disease, 245 

Chap. 82. Colds — -Bronchitis — ^Pneumonia 255 

Chap. 83. Virtues of Castor Oil 258 

Chap. 84. Bismuth Subnitrate. 260 

Chap. 85. Calomel, Use and Abuse 261 

Chap. 86. Infantile Paralysis 263 

Chap. 87. Measles 263 

Chap. 88. Harness for Protruding Ears 265 

Chap. 89. Inherited Syphilis 265 

Chap. 90. Worms: 

Symptoms 268 

Chap. 91. Infantile Myxoedema or Cretinism 270 

Chap. 92. Vaccination 275 

Chap. 93. Development of the Boy 277 

Chap. 94. The Sex Problem 279 

Chap. 95. Recipes 281 



PREFACE 



A MOTHER'S DEVOTION 

Every human being lias traits and tastes for certain 
work in life. Many miss their true vocation, either 
through the influence of others or through lack of 
finances, and are compelled to go through life handi- 
capped. Some of these at a later time may manage 
to reach the proper path; others are doomed to dis- 
appointment and failure. 

Especially is this true of the real physician. True 
physicians are born, not made, and a man or woman 
may graduate from some large medical college laden 
down with technical knowledge and still lack the 
practical knowledge of how to heal the sick. Educa- 
tion is clearly one thing, the natural-born trait clearly 
another. 

Almost from the time of my earliest memory be- 
gins, I was determined to be a physician, so that I 
could help the sick and sufi'ering. When a child, my 
favorite pastime was that of playing doctor, bundling 
my small brother up in old shawls, and giving him 
bread pills and doses of water from an old bottle. 
Women and children appealed to me especially. 

To train as a nurse, I entered St. Lake's hospital, 
Denver, Colo., at the age of 18 years. I intended to 
enter some medical college in the East after my grad- 
uation there, to take up diseases of women and chil- 
dren. I believed that in order to make a successful 
physician, a thorough training in care of the sick 
would be an essential factor and I set out to acquire 
the practical experience necessary. Soon after enter- 
ing St. Luke's, I was given full charge of a large ward ; 
and worked so hard that my health began to fail and 
I was obliged to go on a vacation. 

Shortly after entering upon this vacation, I met Mr. 



10 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

Alberty, and being young, foolish and in love, I mar- 
ried. My husband would not listen to my continuing 
my studies further, and although I was obliged to give 
them up for a time, as I grew older the longing 
seemed to grow in intensity. HaYing begun to raise 
a family, however, I could not see my way clear. 

When my first baby was born, I felt that I was well- 
equipped to raise him to healthy manhood. The nat- 
ural mother instinct, as well as the training I had 
received in the hospital should surely prove sufficient. 
As I had plenty of milk, there was no difficulty about 
the feeding question; and he grew naturally into a 
beautiful, healthy boy. There was but little to be 
learned, for there was no trouble, and when every- 
thing runs smooth there is no knowledge to be gained. 

Belladonna was used to dry up the abundant sup- 
ply of milk, and this medicine ruined the mammary 
glands and forever spoiled all future prospects for me 
in nursing my offspring. Great as this misfortune 
Avas to me, it has proved to be a great blessing to 
others, and I have been enabled to save many little 
lives, because it was necessary for me to solve the 
bottle-baby problem. 

When next baby came, trouble began. My mother 
instinct, as well as my hospital training, proved to be 
of little use after all ; they could not save my poor, 
suffering baby. He was placed in the care of the best 
physicians, who did everything they could, but with- 
out any success. Cow's milk in nearly every form was 
tried; baby foods of different brands were attempted, 
and failed. I grew desperate and almost frantic, as I 
saw my poor baby dying by inches, suffering the tor- 
tures of the starving, and yet powerless to relieve him.. 

He grew thinner daily, more hungry and miserable ; 
his feedings were cut down to smaller and smaller 
amounts — "dieted," it was called. I made desperate 
appeals to the doctor to put forth every effort to save 
my boy, and it seemed to me that for a poor helpless 
baby to die in that manner was one of the most agon- 
izing deaths any human being could experience. 

Experiments, were tried, first one and then another.. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 11 

I learned much in the line of research, but my heart 
grew sick and tired of it all. I felt that if I could 
have been a ijhysician I would surely have spent my 
life in looking up a food that the weakest, frailest 
stomach could digest. Why was all this experiment- 
ing? Surely, there was some way beside it! But the 
truth did not begin to dawn on me until it was too 
late, when my poor, mistreated baby was far beyond 
all human aid. 

Then I was a sadder and wiser woman. My heart 
went out in love and sympathy to every suffering baby 
in the world. There was a determination to find in 
some way a food that every baby could thrive on. I 
felt that if I could only accomplish that, I would do 
more good in the world than even as a physician, for 
in the latter case I could reach only those in my im- 
mediate vicinity. From a light-hearted, care-free 
woman I passed into a serious, determined one. Be- 
lieving that God had put in the world everything for 
our good, and a remedy for every ill, I prayed as only 
a desperate mother can pray for guidance and wisdom 
in my search. I knew that all my succeeding babies 
would have to be raised on the bottle ; and also that I 
had not the grace to go through with many such ex- 
periences as that I had just encountered. 

Consulting with the best physicians, I found some 
very indifferent, while some took it as a matter of 
course that a large majority of babies were born only 
to die through lack of nourishment. There was a lack 
of interest and concern ; so much so that I was aroused 
to the fullest extent, and concluded that if others felt 
as strong on the subject as I did, the world would be 
turned upside down to find the food that I was looking 
for. The indifference I had met only made me more 
determined than ever. I cannot tell here of my efforts 
and struggles; I can only say there was an undying 
hope. 

My third boy was born, and the rounds began. At 
once he was placed under the care of an excellent, con- 
scientious physician, but we soon saw the baby was 
going just as the other boy. At the end of a trying^ 



l'^ THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

agonizing dav, I felt that I must do something des- 
perate. I had stood all a human being could ; I meant 
business. The next day I consulted with my physician, 
and he told me frankly that he had done all he could. 
He told me of the thousands of babies that had died 
through malnutrition. I left his office determined that 
I would take my child's case into my own hands and 
if he died, it would be because no earthly power could 
save him. 

I had become pretty Avell versed in the experiment- 
ing business, and I thought I would like to try a little 
along a new line. As my baby had just had a course 
of the old, tried-out method on which so many thou- 
sands had died, I felt that something new might possi- 
bly give results. So I began to put little scraps of 
knowledge together and was determined to profit by 
all past experiences. I went back to some of the old 
modes, making variations here and there. Finally an 
idea came to me, which I tested out and obtained ex- 
cellent results. It was far from being perfect, yet was 
a start in the right direction. 

In my study of foods I found certain ones Avhich 
gave different results. Some of these ingredients I 
combined in a way that proved to be highly scientific. 
At the time it was nothing but pure ignorance on my 
part. The combination worked to perfection. Careful 
study still Avas needed to balance everything, so that 
any baby could thrive on the new food; but I was suc- 
cessful. 

To say that I was jubilant would be expressing it 
very mildly. Love and determination had won at last ; 
I felt that every mother in the country would rejoice, 
and every physician would welcome my discovery. 

Yet when I announced what I had and what it would 
do, the unexpected happened. I was called crazy ; told 
frankly that I Avould be in the insane asylum inside of 
six months. My neighbors all felt sorry, and tried to 
reason with me. Some said I was a quack; some said 
my food was doped ; while everyone looked on me with 
suspicion. 

On meeting a few mothers with starving, dying 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BAliY 13 

babies, I made an appeal for the sake of the little 
babies. I foiiud the mother iuditferent, and I was 
either told phiinly to mind my own business, or that 
the baby was under the care of a specialist. Still it 
was plain to be seen that the baby Ayas starying just 
the same. 

Finally I was almost ready to giye up in disgust, but 
decided to put forth a last effort; the old determina- 
tion to win or die was still there ; I had gone through 
too much to giye up in this manner. Surely, I thought, 
there Ayere mothers who were desperate as I once AA'as, 
so desperate that I Ayould gladly haA^e gone a thousand 
miles with my baby, had I but heard of any one who 
could help it. 

I placed an ad or announcement in one of the Seattle 
newspapers. A fcAA^ mothers ansAyered, most of them 
cases giA^en up as hopeless ; and the poor mothers came 
to me as a last resort. Such a miserable, desperate 
band of helpless babies and hopeless mothers — skepti- 
cal, unbelieying, suspicious ! Hoaa' happy I was, now 
that I could atone a little for my baby. 

Eyery one of those babies I brought to perfect health 
and flesh. The grateful mothers told others, my suc- 
cess was without a parallel, in fact, miraculous. All 
that came to me were desperate, hopeless cases. My 
reputation became established; my food was in de- 
mand. 

Hearing of the thousands of babies dying in New 
York and of the great efforts being put forth to saA^e 
them, and of the physicians who Ayere working so 
brayely, spending their liyes in behalf of them, I de- 
cided to go there. I felt that surely, AA^hen there Ayas 
such interest in behalf of them, I could get some people 
to try my new food now, as it had been proyen that it 
would do all that was claimed for it, and more, time 
after time. 

On consulting some of the physicians and nurses in 
New York, I was told that no baby foods were used — 
merelA' modified cow's milk. If that failed, eyerything 
else, they said, surely would; and they absolutely re- 
fused to giye any food whatsoeyer a trial. 



14 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

No wonder the babies die, I said to myself, by the 
thousands, when there is no mode of combining cow's 
milk, top milk, lime water and sugar of milk so as to 
decrease to any extent the size of the natural curd of 
the cow's milk! 

I visited some of the infants' hospitals and saAv so 
many starving, dying babies that I begged and pleaded 
to be allowed to save just a few. Surely, it seemed to 
me, when death was to claim some of them so soon, I 
would be permitted to help a few; but I was refused. 

A friend — a noted surgeon in New York — said to me : 
"Mrs. Alberty, go home and forget it. You have a 
noble purpose, but it's no use. I should be glad to help 
you, but being a surgeon, baby foods are out of my 
line. These New York physicians will never listen to 
you. They are accustomed to seeing babies die like 
flies." 

Meanwhile the baby food for which I had striven 
so hard, was fast gaining a foothold in the Avest. Many 
physicians were recommending it, and I was success- 
ful, as far as it went. But there still remained that 
same old longing which had grown up with me from 
childhood. 

Mothers began to come to me to consult me in cases 
of pneumonia, cholera infantum, and other diseases. 
I was always able to help them, in fact, so much so 
that at last I determined to enter Hahnemann's Medi- 
cal College at Chicago. At this time, hoAvever, the 
method of drugless healing was fast becoming so popu- 
lar that I decided to look into it. I had seen failure 
after failure result from use of medicines, and I was 
looking for one of the most successful methods. I be- 
gan a study of anatomy, physiology, and the more I 
pondered and looked into nature's ways, the more I 
was drawn to the drugless method. 

I became a student of mechanotherapy, hydro- 
therapy (water cure), suggestive therapeutic, and 
osteopathy. I graduated from the American College 
of Mechano-Therapy, at Chicago, and received my di- 
ploma, joining the Washington Association of Drugless 
Phvsicians. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 15 

During this time I was successful in saving many 
infants' lives, and was looked upon as an authority on 
the subject of babies. To cure children of scurvy, 
rickets, cholera infantum, infectious diarrhoea, eczema, 
indigestion, infantile paralysis, pneumonia, bronchitis 
and the diseases of the stomach and intestines were 
every day occurrences. 

I found that there is only one right way, and that 
way does not call for experimenting. The experiment- 
ing should come while the knowledge is being acquired ; 
but when it is acquired, the student should become a 
true specialist in every sense of the word. 

It may seem a broad statement when I say most 
emphatically that I do not believe in the death of in- 
fants. Thousands are slaughtered yearly under the 
so-called scientific methods of breast feeding and bottle 
feeding. I can surely stand by my statement after ten 
years of successful treatment, including the bringing 
to health of hundreds of babies which had been given 
up as hopeless. 

God put us here to live from infancy to old age. 
We are gradually coming back to nature, and studying 
her marvelous methods, putting aside much of man's 
wisdom and theories. We are learning to arouse 
activity in the functions of the body, knowing that 
"poor circulation brings poor health." Our bodies are 
made up of the food we eat, and nature never intended 
that we should be sick. Health is a natural law ; if we 
eat the right kind of food, breathe properly, drink the 
right amount of water and take the proper amount 
of exercise, we will be proof against disease, living to 
a hale, hearty old age, enjoying life to the last instead 
of desponding, becoming sick and gloomy, and waiting 
for death to free us from a miserable existence. 

Copyrighted 1912 by Ada M. Alberty, M. T. D. 

Notice.— All persons are warned against republish- 
ing the contents of this book, or any part thereof for 
any purpose whatsoever, without written authority. 

ADA M. ALBERTY, M. T. D. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 



CHAPTER I 



A WORD TO MOTHERS 



The purpose of this book is to let the light of prac- 
tical knowledge shine upon the pathway of the mother, 
that she may know the whys and wherefores of those 
things whereof she has hitherto been ignorant. Unless 
a cause or reason is given — an object lesson, as it were 
— she forgets; household duties and care of her chil- 
dren give her little or no time to puzzle things out, 
why such and such should be true. It is to explain 
these riddles, to show the great principles of Nature 
underlying all our life and the need for mothers to 
return once more to the common-sense ideas of our 
grandparents that this volume has been written. 

"It is necessary to teach the mother in order to save 
the child." No mother can be successful if she is kept 
in the dark. She must be familiar with Nature's laws 
that she may intelligently start her children on the 
right road to health and happiness. If she has not 
this knowledge, whatever health her children have is 
accidental, not the result of her own application. 

Babies are the most abused and least understood of 
living things born into the world; yet they are the 
most important and most precious. Animals of all 
descriptions are studied and comprehended, but not the 
baby. If good common sense were used, a baby is as 
easily raised as the calf or any other offspring; but 
man has desired to tamper ; unnatural means have been 
substituted for natural; and as baby is a part of 
Nature, it could not be expected to survive such treat- 
ment. 

It is food first, and food last. From the hour con- 
ception takes place, growth commences, and continues 



18 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

until manhood or womanhood is reached. Nothing can 
grow without proper nourishment. There can be no 
doubt but that food is the primary necessity in raising 
children. "Children not only eat to live, but to grow 
also." They must be fed more often than adults; 
they require a relatively greater quantity than do 
adults. It takes many elements to make up the whole, 
and if any one is lacking, the whole body will suffer. 
. We have schools and are taught about the human 
body, the process of digestion. Yet how few know 
or are taught how to apply this knowledge in over- 
coming disease or in keeping the body well. Every 
one has to make mistakes in order to learn; or see 
error in order to appreciate the truth. When our 
public schools shows by object lessons what insuffi- 
cient nourishment will do; what improper chewing 
of food will do; then the lessons will be remembered 
and we will have a healthier race. 

How many mothers today can give an outline of 
the process of digestion; or tell intelligently of that 
wonderful function ? Not many, and yet that is where 
we get our source of life. 

The first year of a child's life decides the physical 
future of the boy or girl, of the man or woman. 
Throughout this year the child's food is the all-im- 
portant problem. A baby fed normally on properly 
constituted food has an equal chance with any breast- 
fed infant; yet how many babies die because their 
mothers did not use common sense when nursing 
failed ! 

Many mothers feel that the sooner her baby begins 
to eat adult food, the better it will be for her child 
and herself as well. Little does she know how gravely 
adult food strains and overtaxes the tender digestive 
organs before baby is two years old and has all its 
teeth. She neglects to use the common sense God 
gave her. 

Many books on the subject of the baby have been 
written by doctors, who have used the medical point 
of view, while I have kept close to the mother's stand- 
point. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 19 

Everything recommeuded iu this book has been thor- 
oughly tested and proven to do all that is claimed. 
There are many articles of diet, many remedies, and 
many appliances referred to, but there are no paid 
advertisements. Whatever has been placed herein is 
for the sole benefit of mother and child. For the object 
of this book is to benefit them, and to do what good 
it may. Indeed, the book would be of very little 
value except to a few if the information was not prac- 
tical in each and every case. It will apply and work 
out with marvelous results with every baby tried. 

A PEAYEK FOE THE BABIES 

By Prof. Walter Eauschexbusch 

O God, since Thou hast laid the little children into 
our arms in utter helplessness, with no protection save 
our love, we pray that the sweet appeal of their baby 
hands may not be in vain. Let no innocent life in our 
city be quenched again in useless pain through our 
ignorance and sin. May we who are mothers or fathers 
seek eagerly to join wisdom to our love, lest love itself 
be deadly when unguided by knowledge. Bless the 
doctors and nurses, and all the friends of men, who are 
giving of their skill and devotion to the care of our 
children. If there are any who were kissed by love in 
their own infancy, but who have no child to whom 
they may give as they have received, grant them such 
largeness of sympathy that they may rejoice to pay 
their debt in full to all children who have need of them. 

Forgive us, our Father, for the heartlessness of the 
past. Grant us great tenderness for all babies who 
suffer, and a growing sense of the divine mystery that 
is brooding in the soul of every child. Amen. 

C H A P T E E 2. 

MARRYIXG WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE. 

How many women and girls rush into married life 
without thinking, or without inquiring, what such a 
life means I Men and women should mate properly. 



20 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

the divorce evil would then right itself. Many women 
have no sexual power therefore should not marry ; there 
is usually dissatisfaction on both sides. Few girls 
know even how to cook or to keep house, and as for the 
sex problem, they are completely ignorant of it. Only 
too often they are doomed to awake to the fact that 
there is more in married life than they had ever 
dreamed. 

Obviously, this is not right. Whenever men or 
women start in business, they first familiarize them- 
selves with the business, obtaining the best informa- 
tion and making a study of it before venturing into 
it. Yet married life means a thousandfold more of 
responsibility and care. The health of one, and often 
the health of both of the contracting parties, together 
with the rearing of children, become the problems of 
life. 

The proper management of children is the most 
important subject that can be brought to the consid- 
eration of a parent ; yet it is one that has been greatly 
neglected. Mothers undertake it without previous in- 
struction, thinking it can be learned by instinct, or 
affection. However, instinct and affection is not 
knowledge. The consequences are that they find them- 
selves too often in a state of uncertainty and trouble, 
and act directly opposite to the best physical and 
mental welfare of their children. Just as every wise 
man and woman studies the raising of stock, or 
chickens, or other animals, why does not he or she 
make a study of the proper rearing and feeding of 
their own offspring into healthy and happy men and 
women — the most important subject that could be 
placed before them? Are chickens or other stock of 
more importance? 

Entrusted in a young, inexperienced mother's hands 
is a frail, delicate, helpless infant — one of the greatest 
gifts from God — a dear little baby whose health and 
life depend on her love and care. She seldom knows 
even how to put on its little napkin. How then is 
she to know what to do, and what not to do? 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 21 

The right thing must be done at the right time, or 
the little one's life may be wrecked or sacrificed. The 
tender stomach and other organs are no playthings, 
neither are they made of indestructible material, but 
require proper care. More than this, the first month 
is the most critical period for the infant's nutrition 
and for the greatest actiyity of the organs of its body. 
It is during this period that its chances for life are 
the least. 

Children whose parents are healthy haye an ad- 
yantage oyer those whose parents are not. Those who 
would haye healthy children must first themselyes be 
healthy. Xo one can expect good fruit from poor soil. 
Children born of unhealthy parentage start in the race 
of life handicapped, and at a great disadyantage. 



C H A P T E K 3. 

PREGNANCY. 

When a woman has conceiyed, she is known to be 
pregnant. 

When a woman is unable to become pregnant (with 
child), she is said to be barren or sterile. 

In times past a childless marriage was belieyed to 
be the fault of the wife, but recent inyestigation has 
shown that the frequent cause is with the husband. 
A large percentage of marriages are childless. When 
the husband is at fault it may be impotency, or in- 
ability to perform the sexual act normally, or to the 
highest sexual excitement; or the semen may not be 
fertile. The testicles may be improperly deyeloped. 

When the fault is with the woman, there may haye 
been an absence of the oya; or the opening in the 
neck of the womb may be too small. Many perfectly 
healthy women haye neyer experienced orgasm, or 
sexual excitement, yet bear children because the womb 
is fruitful and otherwise normal. 

The first indication of pregnancy generally is a 
stoppage of the monthly period. There is no certain 
sign of pregnancy, at least none which has not been 



22 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

found to fail. In some instances pregnancy may occur 
and yet the monthly flow continue. This is quite 
common for the first one or two months, but less fre- 
quent for four or five months. Some mothers assert 
that the first intimation they had of being pregnant 
was quickening, feeling the movements of the child. 

THE MORNING SICKNESS. 

Morning sickness occurs with most women for the 
first few months. The sensitiveness of the stomach 
to odors and flavors, and the peculiar ease with which 
feelings of nausea are brought on, is a very significant 
sign and rarely fails. It usually comes on while the 
woman is dressing, or when food is smelled. Some 
women suffer intensely from nausea. 

The best preventative of morning sickness is the 
eating of something before rising, or the drinking of a 
cup of hot beef tea. 

When violent vomiting occurs, the mother should 
eat immediately afterward. Hot milk seasoned with 
pepper and salt is excellent and very soothing to the 
stomach; likewise the juice of an orange; or rare 
steak fried without grease, or boiled 

Pregnant women often become sick at the stomach 
because of hunger, having a peculiar craving in the 
stomach. A pregnant woman should not abstain from 
food because of nausea. Heartburn, hot risings in the 
throat, are relieved by eating unbleached almonds — 
a dozen or two ; or by drinking a cup of water with a 
pinch of baking soda in it 

QUICKENING PERIOD. 

Quickening is the feeling of the movements of the 
child in the womb, which are apparent constantly at 
a period of about four and one-half months. The first 
sensations of life are described as being like the flut- 
terings of a bird, or as a creeping sensation, but after 
a few weeks, when the child becomes stronger, the 
movements are more decided. 

This quickening occurs in some instances at three 
and one-half months. When the parents are healthy 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 23 

and vigorous, quickening takes place at an earlier 
date than when the parents are not strong physically. 
Quickening occurs with the average woman at four 
months. 

The popular idea that previous to quickening the 
child in the womb is not alive is of course erroneous, 
because if the child was not living from the very day 
of its conception it would not grow or develop. 

CHANGES IN SYSTEM AND DISPOSITION. 

Pregnancy is felt by the woman in almost every 
organ of the body. Changes in temper and disposition, 
longings for strange food, drowsiness, toothache, heart- 
burn, palpitation of the heart, constipation and piles 
are very common. As the mother is called upon to 
nourish two lives instead of one, it is but natural for 
important changes to occur in the different systems 
of her body. The spleen and liver increase in size. 
The skin is altered ; the urine becomes more abundant ; 
the nerves are highly strung; and generally she be- 
comes fretful, irritable, and very sensitive. 

The new life must live as she does, except in breath- 
ing. Its growth must have proper nourishment in 
order to lay a good foundation. The quality and char- 
acter of the mother's blood are altered and the quan- 
tity is increased. The heart enlarges and remains 
larger (by one-fifth of its natural size), after the birth 
of her child if she nurses her baby, as preparing milk 
requires more blood. 

Nature provides the placenta, commonly called "aft- 
erbirth," for the nourishment and protection of the 
fetus (infant). In the afterbirth is what is called 
waters. This not only guards the delicate body of the 
infant from jars and shocks, but also causes the move- 
ments of the child to be less painful to the mother. 
Likewise it makes the birth of the child easier, as it 
lubricates the parts. 

As the infant is nourished and kept alive by the 
blood of the mother, and as the child depends entirely 
upon her blood for its life, the fluid must not only 
contain sufficient nutriment (food), and be properly 



24 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

purified, but it must circulate normally. The fetal 
(infant) blood constantly communicates with the 
mother's blood in the afterbirth by a process called 
endosmosis — the mingling of two liquids by passing 
through a separate membrane, but neyer directly 
mingling with it. If these functions are not well per- 
formed the future health of the little one is affected. 

REST^ BATHING AND EXERCISE. 

A pregnant woman requires more rest than one that 
is not pregnant. She should ayoid late hours and ''oyer- 
doing/' so as to allow her body to build up properly. 
A pregnant woman, howeyer, is by no means an in- 
yalid, and should go about her usual household duties, 
with the exception of heavy lifting or reaching up. 

A pregnant woman should rest and be quiet a good 
share of the time during the last two or three months 
of pregnancy. Oyerdoing has often caused a premature 
birth and sometimes the death of the infant, besides 
the injury done the mother. The uterus is heayy and 
a woman can easily injure herself. 

In the same way she should take plenty of exercise 
in the open air, but not fatigue herself; and should 
sleep with plenty of fresh air in her bedroom to 
purify the blood. 

As the skin undergoes a change during this period, 
she should bathe at least twice a week, rubbing the 
skin with a coarse towel to keep the pores open and 
allow all impurities to pass out. 

CARE OF yAGINA. 

When a woman is troubled with discharges from 
the vagina, she should wash out the vagina once a 
day with castile soap and plenty of water, as hot as 
can be borne, using a fountain syringe. If, during 
pregnancy, there is an itching of the parts, she should 
grease well with pure leaf lard once or twice a day. 

URINE. 

All pregnant women are more or less troubled in 
some way with urine (water). 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 25 

Toward the end of pregnancy it is not unusual for 
them to have some difficulty in passing urine, while 
the desire to do so becomes very frequent. 

A pregnant woman should consult her physician 
in the early months of pregnancy, and at different 
times should give him a sample of the urine to analyze, 
lest there be albumen in the urine. Neglect of this 
has caused the death of more than one mother. A 
severe headache or a dropsical condition, or even 
swelling of the feet and ankles, should lead to an imme- 
diate examination of the urine. Samples for such 
tests should be taken from the urine first passed in 
the morning at the time of arising. 

Irritation about the bladder with incontinence or 
retention of the urine can often be relieved by a laxa- 
tive; or by the use of cream of tartar. A good pinch 
of soda in a glass of water is beneficial when the urine 
contains sediment. 

Lemons should be eaten during this period once or 
twice a day, as they improve the quantity and quality 
of the urine. Juice of lemons acts on the liver, and 
may be used in cases of constipation. 

If the urine is scant or offensive, it can be remedied 
by a cup or more of hot salt water four times a day, 
using one-fourth teaspoonful of salt to a coffee cup 
of hot water. 

CONSTIPATION. 

Women who are not naturally constipated will be- 
come so during pregnancy. After confinement they 
will become regular again. Owing to this condition, 
it is almost a necessity for the bowels to move once 
a day, or there is danger of piles, and a feeling of 
tenderness in the region of the uterus (womb) which 
may cause some inconvenience in walking or standing. 

A pregnant woman should eat plenty of fruit, and 
especially oranges, to remedy this condition. The use 
of hot water, seasoned with a little salt, is very, bene- 
ficial in toning the digestive tract, and is excellent for 
constipation. The hot water should be sipped at the 
temperature at which tea or coffee is liked. The salt 



26 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

in the water will stimulate the mucous membrane of 
the stomach and intestines, and act as a tonic. At 
the same time it will prevent heartburn in a large 
measure, and also cause the gas in the stomach to be 
belched. 

Commence by drinking one cupful of hot water with 
a scant one-fourth teaspoonful of salt in it one-half 
hour or, so before each meal. This amount of salt in 
the water will not produce vomiting, as a good tea- 
spoonful of salt is usually used to one cup of luke- 
warm water for that purpose. 

CARE OF THE TEETH. 

During pregnancy the woman should take the very 
best care of her teeth, so as to prevent their decay as 
far as possible. 

It is very common for the mother to lose one or 
two teeth at this time. The acidity of the mouth is 
very destructive to them, and for that reason the mouth 
should be well rinsed with clean warm water after 
each meal together with listerine. Listerine will cause 
a burning sensation at first, but will kill the germs 
and heal the mucous membrane of the mouth. 

Decaying of the teeth is supposed to be due to the 
fact that some of the bone material for building the 
frame of the child may be obtained in this way. If 
every mother would add one teaspoonful of lime water 
to every glass of water she drinks, and would take reg- 
ularly for the first four or five months Fellow's Syrup 
of Hypophosphites, plenty of bone material for the 
growing child would be supplied, and the decay of her 
own teeth in a large measure prevented. The latter 
is also one of the very best tonics for the pregnant 
woman. 

To remove tartar from the teeth, or prevent its forma- 
tion, the pregnant woman should use once a day Euthy- 
mol tooth paste. This is harmless, whitens the teeth, 
and prevents their discoloration and decay. If the 
gums are well brushed with Euthymol paste on a stiff 
tooth brush their red pufiiness will disappear and they 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 27 

will be brought to a healthy condition. They may 
bleed at first, but this will soon cease. 

ENLARGEMENT OF THE ABDOMEN. 

The abdomen of a pregnant woman commences gen- 
erally to enlarge about the third month. At that time 
she should massage the abdomen each night before re- 
tiring. To do this, she should first bathe the abdomen 
with soap and warm water, dry it thoroughly, and 
then apply vaseline, rubbing it in Avell. The treatment 
will cause the walls of the abdomen to give, without 
breaking apart. Vaseline is much better than olive oil, 
as it will soften the muscles more satisfactorily. 

As pregnancy advances and the womb becomes heavy^ 
it is well to wear during the day an abdominal belt sold 
for that purpose. 

DURATION OF PREGNANCY. 

The average duration of the pregnancy period is sup- 
posed to be forty weeks, or one week over nine calendar 
months. 

A woman may become pregnant at any time between 
her monthly periods. 

Many mothers miss their count and think they have 
gone overtime. This is rarely the case; the trouble 
lies in the count. Some women will become impreg- 
nated just after they cease to be unwell,^ and some 
just before they become unwell. 

The most accurate way to count is figuring nine 
months and three weeks from the day a woman ceases 
to be unwell, or five months from the time life is first 
felt in the womb. Some will feel life at an earlier 
date than others. Every woman is a law unto herself. 

SEX OF CHILD. 

If a woman becomes pregnant within ten days of 
the time of her monthly period, if she is regular, the 
child will be a boy. If she becomes pregnant within 
ten days after her period, the child will be a girl. 



28 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 



CHAPTER 4. 

DIET IN PREGNANCY. 

There are many theories concerning the diet of a 
pregnant woman. The future welfare of the infant, and 
the mother too, are often partly, if not entirely, over- 
looked. An easy, painless childbirth seems to be the 
important end in view. 

After years of experience and testing of many 
popular theories, it has been found that it is not so 
much what a woman eats as it is her build that causes 
difficult labor. 

The Indian woman has long been pointed to as a 
model for the American Avoman in this particular. 
Her mode of life has been said to be the reason for her 
easy childbirth. The modern pregnant woman is ad- 
vised not to eat meat, for fear of large bones and 
corresponding difficult labor. This advice is given 
despite the fact that the Indian woman knows nothing 
of diet and lives principally on meat and fish — (buffalo 
and deer meat in the past). 

Some other reason besides a meat diet must be found 
for the easy labor of the squaw, who would step aside, 
give birth to her child, and reappear again apparently 
not in the least inconvenienced. This reason — the true 
secret of easy childbirth, must center in the build of 
the woman. 

The Indian woman is wide through the pelvis and 
vagina. Constant sitting in a squatting position may 
have something to do with it, as she seldom sits in 
any other position. The same thing is true of the 
Eskimo woman, and many other semi-civilized or bar- 
barous races, although they exist chiefly on a meat diet. 

The American woman maj- be wide through the 
pelvis, but with a small and narrow vagina, child labor 
is bound to be attended with much pain, no matter 
what her diet has been. Conversely, she may be nar- 
row through the pelvis, but have a large, loose vagina, 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 29 

and labor then will of necessity be mild, in many cases 
with scarcely any pain whatever. 

There are many women who eat scantily during 
pregnancy, in order, as they suppose, to have an easier 
childbirth. No true mother would ever harbor such 
a thought, as she only does her own body injury, and 
gives birth to a weak and poorly nourished baby, handi- 
capped in its feeble struggle for existence. Some of 
these unlucky infants are born dead; some die soon 
after birth, unable to go through the critical teething 
period. Some have convulsions, rickets (or bone 
starvation), frontenal wide and open, cleft palate, and 
other troubles. 

A pregnant woman has to give her very life to her 
unborn child. Every atom of the little body is made 
up from her body, ''bone of her bone, flesh of her 
flesh." The woman who diets herself becomes weak- 
ened and run down, and is in no condition to go through 
the ordeal of labor. She generally gets up from her 
bed unable to take up added family cares or the nurs- 
ing of her baby. 

A pregnant woman should eat such food daily as 
w^ill keep her own body nourished and at the same 
time supply every element for the framework and flesh 
of her growing infant. To do this, she should eat a 
variety of foods, and ought to gain in flesh steadily 
through pregnancy. There is a difference in vegetable 
protein and protein of meat. Our bodies are made up 
of meat protein. Vegetable protein can not make as 
strong healthy bodies as meat protein. The average 
woman has a better appetite during pregnancy than 
at any other time, as Nature wishes to build up the 
body in order to get the mother in the best possible 
condition for delivery, for the subsequent nursing and 
additional duties of motherhood. 

Let the pregnant woman eat plentifully of rare, 
juicy, tender steaks, fried without grease in a hot 
skillet. Let her have a variety of food — vegetables, 
fruit, nuts — in fact, anything and everything she- 
craves. Whatever her system lacks she will crave. 
Nature seeks to supply every element and make up 



30 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

every deficiency, both in her own body and in the grow- 
ing infant — bone structure, muscles, tissues, vital or- 
gans, brain, hair, nails, etc. If the mothers would 
supply these necessary elements, few abnormal or de- 
formed children would be born. 

Let the mother eat as often as she is hungry, and 
eat until satisfied. Then she will bear healthy children, 
and her own body will not suffer so much from supply- 
ing the things that must go to make up her baby's body. 

STRANGE CRAVINGS. 

It is a well known fact that the pregnant woman 
often craves strange food, as Nature demands that 
the mother make up for what is taken from her own 
self to build up the body of the infant. She will 
crave for certain kinds of food that contain these 
elements. 

Women have craved chalk, starch, raw turnips, and 
other odd things. One woman craved dirt, and ate 
large amounts of it without any bad results. Her 
system lacked lime. 

Some women crave pickles and vinegar, lacking acid. 
Acid may be supplied by eating pickles, oranges or 
lemons. 

Lime water added to drinking water is an excellent 
article of diet during this period; and the same may 
be said of Fellow's Syrup of Hypophosphates, which 
will help to build up her own body together with that 
of the child. 



CHAPTER 5. 

MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 

From time immemorial there has been a popular 
belief that impressions made upon the mind of a preg- 
nant woman would cause defects in the child which 
she was carrying in the womb at the time. The in- 
stance spoken of in the Bible, where God told Jacob 
how to mark the offspring of the fiock of Laban, shows 
that even in animals such impressions can be made. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 31 

During the early part of the nineteenth century 
there appeared a number of books on this subject, the 
object of nearly all of them being to demonstrate that 
there was no ground for the belief. All of these works 
are now valueless, inasmuch as the arguments which 
they contained were based upon theories and not facts. 
It has become an established truth that maternal im- 
pressions are frequently made upon the unborn babe. 
Of recent years some high physicians have again dis- 
credited this belief; but facts are facts, and theories 
are theories. Nevertheless, it is true that maternal 
impressions are a phenomenon which no one can un- 
derstand. 

An excellent example of treatment during pregnancy 
was set in the olden days of Greece. The women of 
that nation were surrounded by beautiful, pleasant 
things ; nor were they allowed to worry or fret, or 
crave for anything unsatisfied. 

Pregnant women should avoid strange or unusual 
sights, should avoid anything displeasing or calling for 
sympathy. They should avoid places of excitement 
like the theatre or the circus. They should gratify 
every wish or longing as far as possible. 

''Maternal longings" for certain articles of diet are 
said to be the cause of some of these marks and de- 
fects. A strong impression may be produced in this 
way. A very common belief is that if the mother has 
longed for some certain food, the child will keep its 
tongue thrust out until it is given a taste of whatever 
the food might have been. Frequently children have 
been born with the mark of some certain kind of fruit 
or vegetable somewhere on the body. A pregnant 
woman should have all of any article of diet she may 
crave, and as often as she wishes it. 

Maternal impressions are often produced simply by 
sight, without any particular emotion. More apt to 
cause a mark, however, are shocks, surprises, or things 
that call forth sympathy. Just why some women will 
mark their children, while so many others do not, is a 
mvsterv. 



32 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

There is an old and popular belief that if a pregnant 
woman when she beholds some strange sight or some- 
thing that shocks her, will at once think of her unborn 
child and not touch her body anywhere with her hands 
for a few moments, in this way she will preyent the 
child from being marked. The reason why this belief 
is so popular is that so many children haye been born 
marked on the spot on the body where the mother 
placed her hands when she caused the mark on the 
child. One instance out of the great number is the case 
of Mrs. K. Her husband came home from fishing and 
laid a fish on the back of her hand. She wiped the 
back of her hand on her apron, touching her thigh as 
she did so. The baby when born had a perfect image 
of a fish on its thigh. 

A child may receiye a mark or defect at any time 
during ultra-uterine life. The younger the child, the 
more sensitiye the organism. It was belieyed in times 
past that a child could not be marked after the first 
six weeks of pregnancy, but there are a number of cases 
on record where children haye been marked two weeks 
before birth, and eyen twenty-four hours before birth. 
If a pregnant woman receiyes a shock or surprise and 
there is fear that she has marked the child in the womb, 
she should put it out of her mind as far as she is able, 
and not brood oyer the idea that she may haye marked 
it. 



CHAPTEK 6 

MISCARRIAGE 

A pregnant woman should ayoid all excitement, and 
especially should she ayoid the lifting of heayy weights, 
for fear of bringing on a miscarriage. 

Some women will habitually miscarry at a certain 
time in pregnancy, seeming to be unable to carry the 
fetus past this period. AVomen who habitually mis- 
carry should, as the usual time approaches, be yery 
careful and spend much time in lying down. If she 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THP: BABY 33 

once passes the critical time safely, the chances are 
that she will carry the child to the full time. 

Discharge of blood from the womb during pregnancy 
is the usual sign that miscarriage is impending. A 
physician should be sent for at once. In the meantime 
the patient should lie down, with the head low and a 
pillow under the hips. The patient should lie quietly 
in bed for about four days, or until all danger is 
passed; and should be very careful thereafter. 

The treatment of jjatients after they have miscarried 
is a most important one, and one that generally re- 
ceives little attention. It is common for women of the 
laboring and middle classes to go about their duties as 
early as the third day afterwards. In some cases the 
neglect or proper precaution may not result in any 
immediate ill-effects, but it often lays the foundation 
of chronic diseases of the generative organs. To mis- 
carry is against Nature's laws, and to transgress those 
laws will bring bad results, sooner or later. 

Too much stress cannot be placed upon the neces- 
sity of lying quietly in bed for at least a week or more, 
depending upon how far pregnancy had advanced. 
Any woman can better afford to lie quietly in bed for 
a week, than to spend months in misery and suffering 
afterwards. If a woman will lie in bed for this length 
of time, she will not be so apt to miscarry the next 
time; but getting up to soon causes a weakness of the 
uterus and forms the abortion habit. 

By way of illustration : A young married woman 
miscarried at three months. She was young and in- 
experienced, and got up and went about her duties too 
soon. She became an invalid; her physician said she 
probably would be one all her life. It took years of 
the most careful treatment to overcome the effects of 
that one experience. She learned a lesson that she 
never forgot; but at what a cost! Some women can 
do almost anything for a while ; some cannot do them 
at all ; but all pay the price sooner or later. 



34 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 




CHAPTER 7 



ABORTION 



The Divine command was, "Be ye fruitful and multi- 
ply, and replenish the earth." The reward for the 
fruitful one was better health, greater satisfaction 
with life, and happiness, whether it was tree, flower, 
animal, or the greatest of God's creations, the woman. 

When God gave this command, He provided ways 
and means. He said, ^'He leadeth those gently that 
are with young." On the other hand, the barren fig tree 
He cursed. 

In olden times it was an honor to bear children ; and 
the married woman who was barren was looked upon 
Avith reproach. Her husband often put her aside and 
souffht after a woman who could bear him children. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 35 

God's all-wise purpose was for the female to bring 
forth children; her body was planned and made Avith 
this object in view. Deep in the heart of every true 
woman He planted the desire for offspring. While it 
may give place for a time to ideas, notions, and love of 
ease, it will manifest itself in time. Often the awaken- 
ing does not come nntil the woman has reached the 
age of forty or more; then before she realizes it there 
comes a yearning which nothing can satisfy, for it 
comes from the depths of her being — that avenne in her 
makeup which has never been opened, and which noth- 
ing can open save the love of her own children. 




Sometimes she may take a cat, dog, parrot or other 
animal, and lavish the love of her heart upon it, trying 
to fill the void, but nothing really can take the place 
of what God has intended. The birth of a child opens 
a mother's heart, makes her sympathetic, kinder, more 
unselfish, more thoughtful of others ; with the birth of 
each succeeding child she becomes more and more 
sweet, more gentle to her fellow men; and there is 
awakened something within her which was not there 
before. 

The woman who will not bear children grows selfish, 
narrow, envious and often bitter; her makeup is 
warped, and she looks upon life with a different view. 
As she grows older the things which she once loved pall 
on her; there is no son or daughter to brighten and 



36 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

gladden her heart. In younger days life Avas gay, other 
pleasures filled her heart, but — there comes a times 
when these worldly things lose their charm and she 
envies the happy young mother with her cooing baby. 

It is true that with motherhood comes more or less 
care and responsibility; and a true mother will natur- 
ally have to forego some pleasures for a while; but 
does not the love, the trust, the sweetness of a pure 
little child repay an hundredfold for every anxious 
moment? A look into the sweet eyes of her baby will 
make a mother forget a world of care and sorrow and 
pleasures foregone, pleasures which in the end could 
not satisfy. 

In the heart of every true man is a desire for a child. 
God planted it there. Many a man has said, "'What's 
life to me without wife and babies?" The child draws 
husband and wife together as nothing else can do. 

Some women obstinately refuse to bear children, pre- 
ferring freedom and ease; but they pay the penalty, 
and miss from their lives much sweetness and all that 
is worth while. Sometimes she loses the true, deep 
love of her husband, who in his heart if he be a man, 
must condemn her. 

Often a woman will desire a child, but the husband 
will not consent, for he may feel that he does not care 
for the expense and trouble of a family. In case one 
of the parents wishes children and the other does not, 
it is not right to condemn the longing one to go through 
life with that desire unfulfilled; for the happiness of 
the home may be wrecked thereby. While it is not 
best in many cases to have a large family and overtax 
the mother, still two or three children in a home will 
make it more like home; and are for the good of both 
husband and wife. ''A home without a child is like a 
garden without a flower." 

Abortion is almost never right; only when the life 
of the mother is at stake can it be condoned. The child 
is alive from the moment conception takes place, and 
to cause an abortion is to commit murder. If any steps 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 37 

are to be taken at all, pregnancy itself should be pre- 
vented, rather than abortion. 

When a woman is anemic, dropsical, syphiletic, or 
tubercular, of course she should not have offspring 
unless these conditions can be largely overcome; but 
she should not permit pregnancy to take place. 

Abortion not only is murder, but also it surely 
wrecks the health of the woman, it making no differ- 
ence how the operation is performed; for it is a trans- 
gression of one of Nature's sternest laws and the re- 
sults are disastrous, often fatal. 

The writer has known personalh^ of cases where 
young, married women have not wanted offspring until 
later in life, and have used some remedy each month 
to bring on their periods. When they awake to the 
fact that their health is being wrecked, they will then 
have a child, expecting perfect health after its birth; 
but they are generally mistaken for those who trans- 
gress Nature's laws must of course pay the penalty. 

There are instances where an abortion is necessary 
to save the mother's life ; but even then, when the Avork 
is done under strictly sanitary precautions and under 
the supervision of a first-class physician, her health is 
affected, and a repetition of the act ends in her pre- 
mature death; no one is able to survive such opera- 
tions very long. 

A young, married woman, mother of two children, 
became pregnant the third time. Her husband felt that 
his family was large enough under the circumstances, 
as he was a man of very moderate means. The family 
physician refused to perform an operation on the 
grounds that it was not a life and death matter, so the 
young mother decided to perform it herself. Blood- 
poison set in; her life was given up; the timely skill 
of a physician managed to save her, but for what — She 
was a hopeless invalid at the age of 25 years. 

How often does the unlucky woman pay the penalty 
with her life for this awful mistake ; then too, she must 
remember her reckoning with God. 



38 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

THE MOTHER PENITENT 

(Anonymous) 

There's a spirit waiting for me in the shadow Bve-and- 

bye; 
Tin J, tiny, nndeveloped, but it makes me fear to die. 
It is waiting there to claim me when I leave my life's 

duress, 
It is waiting there to name me as its mother murderess. 
I was weak, was workworn, weary, when its body 

formed in mine 
And I roughly cast it from me, with its germ of life 

divine. 
And it waits there at the Portal, at Eternity's dark 

door. 
I am fearful to be mortal, little child I never bore I 
Oh my baby, oh my baby, with the never-opened eyes, 
Do you know you bar your mother from the gates of 

Paradise ? 
But my love goes straining towards you murdered as 

you were by me. 
Towards the mouth I never suckled, towards the limbs 

I did not see. 
I have other children 'round me, agate eyes and breeze- 
blown hair, 
But a tie more strong has bound me to the child I 

would not bear. 



CHAPTEE 8 

BABY^S FIRST CLOTHING 

A baby's outfit should consist of the following 
articles : 

Seven little white slips or dresses, for every day. 

One or two little white dresses, for best. 

One white nainsook underskirt, for best. 

Four white underskirts of either flannel or white 
outing flannel for every day wear. 

Three or four white cotton or silk underskirts. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 39 

Eight white outing flannel bands, unhemmed, about 
fourteen inches long and four and one-half inches wide. 

Four pairs of white silk or cotton stockings. 

Four pairs woolen booties. 

Four white outing flannel night-dresses. 

Three dozen heavy canton flannel diapers. 

One dozen birds-eye linen diapers for early days of 
life. 

Instead of making the usual cotton-filled pads for 
the protection of the mattress from soil or urine, white 
cotton blankets cut in halves are excellent, easily 
washed and dried. Their merit for use in place of 
quilts lies in the fact that they are so easily laundried. 

The little white slips or dresses should be made 
about twenty-one inches long. This is short length. 
The old-fashioned way of making long baby clothes 
which get wet and uncomfortable around the little 
feet are fast going out of style. Outside of the fact 
that they feel uncomfortable and damp, they are likely 
to cause colic because of this condition; and prevent 
baby from kicking his feet about. It is also a waste 
of time and goods to make them long for a short time, 
then cut them off short for a longer time. 

The night dresses may be made long, however. Wash 
cloths and soft towels may be made from cheesecloth, 
well-laundered before use. 

Shirts, bands and diapers should be washed before 
using for baby. Unless the diapers are washed about 
three times, they will not absorb urine. 

Any white cloths may be washed and torn in squares 
to lay in baby's napkins for the first day or so to pro- 
tect the diapers; as the first bowel movements consist 
of a heavy, dark-looking substance called meconium. 

FOR BABY^S BASKET 

Two sizes of safety pins, large and small. 

One roll of absorbent cotton. 

One cake of pure white castile soap. 

One box of talcum powder (bland). 

One box of boric acid powder for eyes and mouth. 



40 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

One bottle of two per cent solution of nitrate of 
silver for the eyes, just after baby's first bath. 

One medicine dropper. 

One roll of antiseptic gauze. 

One bottle of pure white vaseline. 

One bottle of olive oil. 

One roll of small tape, to tie navel cord. 

One opal jar of pure hog fat, rendered at home, for 
the purpose of removing the cheesy-looking substance 
which covers the new-born baby's body to a certain 
extent. 



CHAPTER 9 

NECESSITIES TO PREPARE BEFORE LABOR 

The following necessities should be prepared before 
labor : 

One small white china pitcher. 

One white wash-bowl. 

One slop jar. 

One granite bed-pan. 

One bottle of Lysol, for cleaning purposes. 

One large roll of absorbent cotton. 

One package of straws such as are used at soda 
fountains. 

Several dozen sanitary napkins for the discharges 
after childbirth. 

One strip of birdseye linen, one and one-half yards 
long, to be used by the mother as a binder after child- 
birth. 

All old blankets and comforts should be saved for use 
during childbirth. 

The white pitcher is to be used to pour sterile water 
over the genital organs of the mother to cleanse them 
after the birth of the child. Some nurses will dip their 
hands in the water to test its temperature or to bathe 
the genital organs. This should not be permitted. 
Test the temperature of the water by pouring some 
from the pitcher onto the wrist. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 41 

The cotton is to drv the genital organs after cleans- 
ing. 

The LysoI — a few drops of it — is to be nsed in the 
water for antiseptic purposes, for cleansing of the 
parts. 

The package of straAvs is for the patient to nse in 
drinking all liquids during the first few days. 

SANITARY NAPKINS 

In preparing sanitary napkins, get about thirty 
yards of cheap white cheese cloth and scYeral rolls of 
cotton, as well as one or two packages of common pins. 
A few yards of cheap white muslin will also be needed. 
Cut the cheesecloth crosswise into strips about eighteen 
inches deep; and the cotton into strips four and one- 
half inches wide by sixteen inches long. Fold a strip 
of cotton into each piece of the cheesecloth. Xo basting 
will be needed, as they will remain folded. 

The next step is to diYide the napkins into bunches 
of two each ; and to pin into a piece of the muslin each 
bunch (old, clean, white muslin will do). Place about 
four of these bundles in a pan and set it in a slow 
OYen — slow to preYcnt burning — and bake from two 
and one-half to three hours. This process \Yill sterilize 
them, killing the germs and making them fit for the 
use intended. 

Let them remain in their muslin coYering until they 
are needed for use. The nurse should not handle them 
except at the edge of each end, thus aYoiding contami- 
nation. 



C H A P T E E 10 

I 

PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH 

Because the Indian women were noted for painless 
child-bearing, it has been commonly belicYed that it 
was not natural for woman to haYe a painful child- 
birth, proYided she liYcd close to nature. This at best 
is merely a theory. White AYomen haYe tried it with 
varying success, some of the births they gave being in- 



42 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

strumental, otliers almost painless. The cases of diffi- 
cult labor were with woraen of very small, narrow 
build, or where the bones of the pelvis and walls of the 
vagina were very rigid. The cases of painless birth 
were just the opposite, with walls and vagina relaxed 
and expanded readily, and with the pelvis bones wide. 

The Bible speaks of the cries of a woman in travail, 
showing that it is natural for childbirth to be accom- 
panied by some pain. 

Women have tried different remedies and ways of 
lessening the pains of labor. Sitz baths have been 
thought to be good by some, but they are not approved 
by many physicians, as some women have brought on 
miscarriage by their use. Others have tried rubbing 
the abdomen with some advertised remedy, but if the 
walls of the vagina were rigid, the remedy did little 
good. Olive oil or vaseline rubbed on the abdomen 
will cause the muscles or walls to yield, but will not 
affect the vagina. 

Low diets have likewise been tried in order to have 
as painless a birth as possible. A diet of nothing but 
fruit and vegetables, containing little bone-building 
material, may cause the birth to be easier, as the bones 
of the child in that case would be very soft. The low 
diet, however, does not affect the vagina — merely 
weakens the mother's body and makes her unfit to nurse 
her child. The blood becomes impoverished, while de- 
caying teeth, and falling hair result, as well as an 
easier birth. The child itself will be soft-boned, weakly, 
and unfit to cope with life. 

Every mother's greatest desire should be to give of 
her best to her offspring, and to have a healthy child. 
A weak, sickly, poorly-nourished infant saps the 
strength of an over-worked mother. 

Mrs. C, being a small, narrow-built woman, had just 
had a very difficult labor. With the next pregnancy, 
she decided to live upon such diet as would make as 
little bone-building material as possible. When this 
unlucky infant was born, the birth was much easier 
than the previous one. From birth the baby girl was a 
great care, so delicate that she was not expected at first 



THE TRUTH ABOUT TPIE liABY • 43 

to live. Her bones were soft; teething was difldcult; 
she was tronbled with indigestion and anemia. From 
birth to womanhood she was an invalid, able to attend 
school only part of the time; and not expected by her 
physician to live through puberty. She was unfit for 
wifehood or motherhood; her life was ruined through 
her ill-health. The most nourishing food could not 
undo the evil that was w^rought, for her foundation 
from the beginning was too poor to give a footing for 
health afterward. 

There is one safe remedy for causing relaxation and 
softening of the muscles of the vagina — beef suet and 
pure leaf lard (fat from the intestines of a hog). 

In preparing it, render the beef suet and leaf fat in 
separate vessels. While it is hot, add to every five 
parts of the leaf fat two parts of the beef suet. Let 
it get cold, then cut into squares about three-fourths 
of an inch wide. On retiring at night, insert one of 
these suppositories as far up in the vagina as possible. 
The heat of the body will cause it to melt. This treat- 
ment should be commenced about five weeks or two 
months before expected delivery. To commence earlier, 
of course, will do no harm. 



CHAPTER 11 

SIGNS OF APPROACHING LABOR 

Near the latter part of the ninth month, certain 
changes take place which indicate that labor is not far 
distant. With the majority of women there will be a 
sinking of the abdominal swelling. The upper end of 
the womb which at the beginning of the ninth month 
reached as high as the pit of the stomach, now falls a 
little below this point. With this change of the posi- 
tion of the womb, walking becomes more difficult and 
the desire to urinate becomes more frequent. The move- 
ments of the child become more frequent. 

When labor is about to commence there will be an 
appearance of a slight discharge of mucus, streaked 
with blood. In some cases the first sign of approach- 



44 * THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

ing labor is the breaking of the water. This frequently 
occurs with no pains felt for several hours afterward. 
In others the first sign of labor is the recurrence of 
slight pains at regular intervals, gradually increasing 
in intensity until they reach their height, then pass off. 
There will be a frequent desire to go to the stool, as 
Mature often empties the intestines at this time. 

Labor is divided into three stages. The first stage is 
the dilation (opening) of the mouth of the womb; the 
second stage lasts from the moment that dilation is 
complete until the child is born. The third or last 
stage includes the time of the birth of the child to the 
coming away of the afterbirth. 

In the early part of labor the pains are slight, occur 
at intervals, and are felt mostly in the lower part of 
the front of the abdomen. As labor advances, the 
pains become stronger and more energetic; following 
one another more closely. Each pain is feeble at the 
beginning, increases in intensity until it reaches its 
height, then gradually passes off. At first the pains 
may be thirty minutes apart, then fifteen minutes, then 
ten minutes, and oftener. 

Labor pains are caused by the contraction of the 
uterus, or womb. During a labor pain the lower part 
of the abdomen, from just below the navel, will become 
hard and firm. After the pain passes the abdomen will 
be soft. Some women have had Avhat is called false 
pains, and have sent for the nurse and physician. 
When the woman feels the abdomen harden during a 
pain and when the pains come at regular intervals, 
increase in intensity, then pass away gradually — the 
woman may know that labor it about to begin. 

PREPARATION FOR LABOR 

As soon as the mother sees she is in labor she should 
send for the physician. She should take an enema of 
warm water, and see that her boAvels move freely. 
She should have an abundance of hot water handy. 
Next the bed should be prepared, with a large piece of 
oil cloth or rubber sheeting over the mattress and 
pinned with safety pins to it. Over this should be a 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 45 

clean sheets with an old comfort, cotton blanket, or lot 
of newspapers pnt over the sheet ; and with an old worn- 
ont sheet folded and placed over the papers or blanket. 
The remaining bed covering mav be arranged according 
to the season of the year. A good, strong sheet should 
be tied around the foot of the bed for the patient to 
pull on during her pains. 

The patient should plait her hair, a braid on each 
side. The underwear is best removed, unless the mother 
desires to keep on her undervest. A clean nightdress 
may be put on, and a loose wrapper may be put on over 
the nightgown, if the mother desires to sit up. If the 
feet are cold, she should take a warm foot-bath. In the 
room where the patient intends to be confined should 
be collected all the clothing which will be needed for the 
mother and the expected infant. 

There should be a clean wash-bowl, also a good sup- 
ply of fresh, clean towels and plenty of soap. Other 
things needed include a w^hite cotton blanket to receive 
the infant in; a piece of strong, white tape to tie the 
cord with, about ten inches long; plenty of pure leaf 
lard (rendered at home) ; a bed-pan, and large roll of 
cotton. There should also be the boric acid solution, 
nitrate of silver, or whatever the physician has ordered 
for the baby's eyes. 

If the water breaks several hours before the child is 
born, the birth will be what is called a dry birth. Olive 
oil may be injected into the vagina to lubricate the 
parts and make the dry birth much easier. The injec- 
tions should be made with a syringe which has been 
boiled, and the hard rubber point which enters the 
vagina should not be touched by the nurse's fingers. 
The patient must lie on her back and remain quiet for 
a few minutes after the injections. 



CHAPTEK 12 

WHEN THE PHYSICIAN IS ABSENT 

To prevent any inconvenience later on, the physician 
should be notified at the first sign of labor. No woman 



46 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

should be so foolish as to trust her life and the life of 
her little one in the hands of a midwife, unless it is 
impossible to obtain a good medical attendant. If 
everything should go along smoothlv, a midwife of 
course might be all right ; but one never knows, and it 
is best to be on the safe side when life is at stake. 

The position of the child at the time of delivery some- 
times has to be changed. It may come forth feet first, 
or may present its shoulder, an impossible delivery. If 
the buttocks present, more or less difficulty is bound 
to occur. Again, sometimes the afterbirth adheres to 
the uterus, and the uterus has to be scrajjed to prevent 
the setting in of blood-poisoning and death of the 
mother. The very best of medical attendance, it is ob- 
vious, should always be obtained. 

Infants are frequently born before the physician ar- 
rives. When the nurse sees that the child is about to be 
born, she should scrub her hands thoroughly with soap 
and hot water, see that her finger nails are trimmed and 
clean, and dip her hands as a final precaution in a solu- 
tion of carbonic acid water — one teaspoon of acid to 
one pint and one-half of water. Then, without drying 
her hands, she may take a cloth which has been well 
sterilized (in a hot oven), and holding this in the palm 
of her left hand press against the bulging perineum 
( opening into vagina ) , the fingers being directed back- 
ward so that the front edge of the perineum may receive 
the support. The object of this is to prevent the child's 
head from passing too quickly and lacerating the peri- 
neum. Nothing but harm is likely to result from at- 
tempts to enlarge the opening. Above all things, there 
should be no pulling, which frequently has been the 
cause of serious trouble. Xature must be allowed to 
do her own work. 

If the navel cord is found coiled around the child's 
neck or shoulders, it must be slipped over the child's 
head as quickly as possible, as circulation through the 
cord may cease, and the life of the child be sacrificed. 
If the child is born with membrane or veil over the face, 
it should be removed or the child will suffocate. If the 
child does not cry, the nurse should wipe out the child's 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 47 

mouth as far back as possible to remove any mucus, 
then turn it on its side and spank it. 

As soon as the child cries it should be placed on its 
right side. This position is an important one for very 
evident reasons. The child's face must be turned from 
the maternal organs to avoid any sudden discharge that 
might come from them. It must be placed near enough 
to the mother to prevent the over-stretching of the navel 
cord. The navel cord must not be cut until the child 
cries, or breathes well and circulation in the cord is 
much lessened. 

The child must be brought into view before attempt- 
ing to tie the cord. It should be placed on its back, 
after which a piece of common white tape may be tied 
tightly and firmly around the cord about two and one- 
half inches from its body. The cord must be tied very 
tight, otherwise the blood vessels may not be closed 
sufficiently and the child may bleed to death. 

This having been done, the cord may be tied again 
an inch and one-half above this point nearer the 
mother 's body. Then the cord may be severed with a 
pair of sharp scissors, halfway between the places 
where it is tied. The infant should next be lifted care- 
fully so that it will not slip from between the hands, 
and wrapped in a warm cotton blanket, leaving the face 
exposed. It should be remembered that newborn chil- 
dren are slippery. Its eyes may be wiped with a piece 
of gauze dipped in boric acid solution; and the baby 
should be then laid on its right side in some safe place 
away from the light until convenient to care for it. 

As the body of the child is being born, the uterus 
(womb) should contract to the size of a ball five inches 
in diameter. If this does not take place, the womb 
should be firmly grasped through the walls of the abdo- 
men and be stimulated to contract. This is very im- 
portant, because if it does not take place the patient 
may bleed to death in a few minutes. The hand of the 
nurse should be kept pressed gently against the womb, 
kneading it occasionally in order to promote the recur- 
rence of a contraction strong enough to expel the after- 
birth. As long as the afterbirth remains, the patient is 



48 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

not safe from dangerous flooding, but while the uterus 
continues firmly contracted and feels to the touch like 
a hard ball, there is but little danger. 

After five or ten minutes, if slight pains come on the 
mother should bear down a little and the cord should 
be pulled very gently. In many cases, this Ayill cause 
the afterbirth to come away. As it reaches the yulva, 
the mother should cease her efforts and the nurse should 
twist the afterbirth round and round on itself, ten or 
more times, gradually withdrawing it at the same mo- 
ment. This is to wind the membranes or bag into a 
string, if possible, inside the yagina, so that all may 
come away with the afterbirth. The mass, when re- 
moved, should be laid away for careful examination, 
in order to determine whether any part has been left 
in the womb. 

The attention of the nurse should then be immedi- 
ately returned to the mother; and her hand should be 
applied to the abdomen. The womb ought to feel under 
the touch as a ball of about three and one-half inches 
in diameter, and harder than before. If it does not 
so appear, the abdomen must be pressed firmly to in- 
duce it to contract. Should it not do so within a few 
minutes, the nurse must introduce her hand up the 
yagina into the cavity of the womb under strictly anti- 
septic conditions, and pull out the clots of blood which 
will probably be found there. Uterine contraction 
should be further stimulated, grasping the womb firmly 
through the walls of the abdomen. 

Uterine contraction is the mother-s only safety. If 
the womb is obstinate and will not contract after this 
treatment, a teaspoonful of ergot may be given in a little 
water, and the dose repeated in fifteen minutes. No 
more ergot should be given after the second dose. 

If flooding takes place before the physician has ar- 
rived, the pillow should be removed from beneath the 
patient's head and the hips raised, cold, wet cloths 
being in the meantime applied. The hand of the nurse 
must be kept firmly pressed against the womb. During 
this time the. patient must lie quietly. 

After flooding ceases, or in cases Avhere it does not 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 49 

take place, a tight bandage should be applied to the 
patient's body. A towel or three napkins should be 
folded and placed where the nurse's hand has been 
pressed against the womb. Bandage eighteen inches 
wide and one and one-half j^ards long should be pinned 
tightly round the patient's body to prevent relaxation 
of the womb. After she is securely bandaged, the 
patient may be lifted up a little out of the wettest part 
of the bed, if it can be done without any effort on the 
part of the patient. 

Through fear of flooding, the patient must be kept 
always as quiet as possible for a few hours after child- 
birth, or at least until the blood has had time to clot 
firmly in the large, open-mouthed veins of the womb. 
When the patient has been made as comfortable as 
possible, a clean, sterilized napkin may be placed be- 
tween the thighs, the nurse's fingers being permitted 
only to touch the ends of it. The napkin must not be 
pressed too tightly against the vulva, lest it act as a 
plug and prevent the detection of flooding should it 
come on, as well as prevent the passing of blood clots. 



CHAPTER 13 

CARE OF IVrOTHER AFTER CONFINEMENT 

After the patient has been made comfortable, she 
should have several hours of undisturbed rest, and if 
possible, sleep. The room should be kept quiet with 
blinds drawn, as childbirth is very hard on the eyes. 
The straining in childbirth affects the nerves of the 
eye and they are seldom as strong after childbearing 
as before. For the first day or so the patient will suffer 
from after-pains, though seldom with the first child. 
These pains are more severe when the infant is put to 
the breast. 

When the mother has thus rested, the infant should 
be put to the breast to get the colostrom, as the sub- 
stance which is in the breast is called. This colostrom 
acts as a physic on the baby as well as aff'ording nour- 



50 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

ishment. The act of sucking stimulates the womb to 
contraction — so beneficial to the mother. 

For the first three days the patient should eat light, 
easily digested foods. She may eat all she wishes, but 
meat, potatoes and the heavy food-stuffs should be 
avoided. Toast, tea, cocoa, milk, eggs poached or soft 
boiled, soups, broths and easily-digested cereals should 
be chosen. No physic should be given until the morn- 
ing of the third day. Castor oil disguised by lemon 
juice brings very satisfactory results. To prepare it, 
take the juice of half a lemon, squeeze it into a cup, add 
two tablespoonfuls of castor oil, and squeeze tlie juice 
of the remaining half of the lemon on top of the oil. The 
patient in this way will swallow the dose Avithout tast- 
ing the castor oil. The stomach and intestines require 
a thorough cleaning out. 

URIXATIXG 

It has been found in some cases very difficult to 
empty the bladder after confinement. The patient in 
no wise must be lifted upon the vessel, as instant death 
has been known to result from such attempts. Instead, 
place a warm bedpan beneath the patient, and if she 
finds it impossible to urinate, the nurse may take a 
small, white, clean pitcher and pour prepared water 
on the vulva of the patient. This Avater must be clean 
and warm ; and previously boiled and cooled. Its tem- 
perature while in the pitcher may be tested by pouring 
a little on the nurse's hand. She in no case should 
stick her fingers into the water. 

Sometimes the patient may be caused to urinate by 
the nurse pouring water from one pan into another. If 
all efforts fail, the nurse should boil a rubber catheter, 
grease with pure A^aseline, and then draw the urine, If 
the nurse is not experienced in using a catheter, the 
patient may roll over on her hands and knees, and in 
this position she generally can pass urine. She should 
turn very carefully, and not raise herself too high. 
This has been done quite successfully. 

Each time after the urine is passed, the nurse before 
moving the bedpan from under the patient, may pour 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 51 

some warm, sterilized water over the parts to cleanse 
them ; and then give the patient a clean napkin. Urine 
shonld be passed within twelve honrs after childbirth, 
as nnich annoyance has occnrred when it was not. 

SORENESS AND BLOATING 

On the afternoon of the second day the nnrse should 
unpin the bandage around the patient's abdomen and 
massage the abdomen for about fifteen minutes. A 
little warmed olive oil may be poured on it first, then 
commencing at the right side, she may rub toward the 
left of the abdomen, going round and round, using both 
hands, and letting one hand follow the other she may 
rub deeply and firmly. This treatment is exceedingly 
beneficial, as it starts the natural functions to working, 
helps remove the gas which forms after childbirth ; and 
takes away the soreness which is so annoying about the 
third day. It also stimulates the womb to contracting, 
and aids the flow and passing of bloodclots. 

In cases where the flow is scant or there seems to be 
considerable soreness, the patient should be massaged 
twice daily. In all instances the patient should be 
massaged at least once a day, for eight or nine days. 
She should also wear the tight bandage for five or six 
days. 

All women bloat to a certain extent after confine- 
ment, it first becoming noticeable on the second day. 
Some will have colic. Because of this easily-digested 
foods should be eaten, and tomatoes, pickles and cab- 
bage, etc., should all be avoided. The eating of these 
has caused serious results. All drinks such as milk, 
tea, etc., can be easily taken while in bed by the use of 
straws such as are used at soda fountains, or by the 
use of macaroni. 

IRRIGATION 

The nurse should never be allowed to give the patient 
a douche or w^ash out the vagina after confinement, 
unless otherwise ordered by the physician. 

In six or seven days, however, if the flow is scant 
and foul-smelling, the patient if the physician permits 
may be given a douche. The syringe should be boiled, 



52 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

especially the liard rubber point which enters the va- 
gina. Water which has been boiled and cooled to the 
proper temperature should be ready, and after Lysol 
has been added, one teaspoonful to two quarts of the 
water, it may be poured into the fountain syringe and 
used. 

CARE OP GENITAL ORGANS 

The genital organs of the mother should be Avashed 
thoroughly after each urination. For this purpose water, 
boiled and cooled with a few drops of Lysol in it, should 
be placed in a pitcher and poured gently over the 
vulva and parts after a bedpan has been placed beneath 
the patient. The water should be at a blood heat, and 
may be tested by the nurse simply pouring out a little 
on her wrist. After the parts are cleansed, the w^ater 
should be carefully wiped away, with absorbent cotton 
or sterilized gauze ; but the vulva should not be touched 
with the fingers, nor should the gauze or cotton, where 
it has been handled, come in contact with the genital 
organs. 

Carelessness has caused the death of more than one 
mother, and great precaution must be exercised to pre- 
vent blood-poisoning. 

REST AFTER CONB'INEMENT 

Absolute rest after delivery must be granted the 
mother, if she wants to be strong and well after she 
gets up from her bed. She should not have any visitors 
until the baby is seven or eight days old and even then 
the callers should make their stay as brief as possible. 

On the second and third days after confinement, the 
mother will be thirsty and sometimes feverish and often 
very nervous, because of the milk approaching. This 
is even true when scarcely any milk comes. There must 
be no excitement about or near the sick room. If any 
complications have set in, they generally manifest them- 
selves on the third day. Should there be any chills and 
fever, the physician should be notified at once. 

For at least three weeks after confinement, the 
mother should rest quietly in bed. This may seem a 
longer time than necessary to some women, but any 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 53 

mother, for the sake of her own health and for those 
dependant npon her, can well afford to remain quietly 
in bed for that time than be too anxious to get on her 
feet, and be miserable afterward. 

The majority of women sit up on the ninth day and 
get up from bed on the tenth. Some women may be 
able to stand that sort of thing a few times, but sooner 
or later they pay the penalty. Absolute rest is neces- 
sary after the long, trying months of pregnancy, and 
of nature taxed to the uttermost. The uterus has been 
nine months gaining its great size; and it will require 
months to regain its natural size and position. 

Because of the fact that the uterus is filled with 
nerves and blood-vessels, excitement or over-exertion 
frequently cause these to fill, and cause congestion or 
inflammation in the uterus. The woman who gets up 
too soon, and is on her feet or in an upright position too 
much, soon causes the heavy uterus to drop and this 
paves the way to chronic disease of the womb. A 
woman must be very careful not to take cold after con- 
finement, lest it settle either in the uterus or in the 
breasts, frequently causing the flow or lochia to cease. 
The flow or lochia should continue for at least eight 
days after confinement. 

Beading and writing in bed after confinement should 
not be permitted. The eyes need absolute rest just as 
the rest of the body. Few^ women have as good eyesight 
after confinement as they did before, and while she is 
recovering, the sick room should be darkened. It is 
well-known that the straining incidental to childbirth 
affects the delicate nerves of the eye of the mother. 

THE BREASTS 

If the mother desides not to nurse the baby, the 
breasts should be bound. This is done by applying a 
wide bandage around the upper part of the mother's 
body. 

If, on the other hand, the babe is to nurse and a large 
supply of milk comes, more than it can take, the balance 
left in the breasts should be drawn off as the milk will 
decrease in quantity and baby later w^ll not have 



54 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

enough to satisfy it as his gastric capacity increases. 
By drawing off the milk the breasts may be preyented 
from caking. 

BATHING 

It is the custom of some nurses to bathe the patient 
in bed. This is a yery dangerous thing to do and should 
not be permitted. The face, hands, neck and ears may 
be washed each morning, but as for the rest of the body, 
it is not necessary for the present, and those who take 
chances may rue the consequences. The body is exposed 
to considerable extent and the mother stands an excel- 
lent chance of taking cold, which might easily proye 
fatal. 

CARE OF THE BED 

Each morning should bring to the mother a clean 
nightdress. If she has on an underyest, it had best re- 
main until the mother gets up. To put on the fresh 
nightdress, the following directions may be followed : 

Let the skirt of the soiled gown first be pulled up to 
the back of the mother's neck; then let the sleeyes be 
pulled off, and the nightdress then remoyed. The 
sleeyes of the fresh nightdress should be put on first, 
after which the remainder will be easy. The mother 
may place her arms around the nurse's back and hold 
firmly, and in this way the nurse can easily raise her 
up and slip the nightdress oyer the shoulders. 

To remoye the soiled undersheet, begin at the farthest 
end from the patient and shoye the soiled sheet towards 
her as far as possible. Then the clean sheet may be 
tucked along the ends and side and shoyed to the edge 
of the soiled sheet. The pillow may now be placed on 
the clean side, and the bedclothes adjusted. If the 
sheet seems cold, a warm blanket may be placed down 
for the patient to lie on when she rolls oyer. After 
she has rolled oyer on the clean side, the soiled sheet 
can be taken away, and the clean one drawn smooth 
and tucked in around the edges. 

To preyent any chilled feeling because of the new 
sheet, a blanket may be slipped under the quilts and 
oyer the patient while the upper sheet is changed. Let 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 55 

the upper sheet be folded crosswise, and tucked in at 
the foot of the bed underneath the other clothes. Then 
it may be drawn up into a position over the patient, 
while the soiled sheet is being drawn down to the foot 
and removed. This blanket may be taken out after she 
feels warm, or the chill is off the fresh sheet. Bed- 
clothing should never be thrown off the patient; and 
the feet must always be kept warm. 

Crumbs should be carefully kept from the bed, and 
strict attention paid to keeping the lower sheet and 
clothing beneath the patient smooth. Let the sheets 
and bed-clothing be smoothened each evening; and ad- 
justed. The pillow should be shaken up and the patient 
made comfortable. 



C H A P T E K 14 

CARE OF INFAXT AFTER DELIVERY 

Before attempting to care for the baby, the nurse 
should see that the room is nicely warmed. The child 
has been accustomed to a temperature of about 100° 
F., and any prolonged exposure in a cold room way be 
followed by disease and even death. All doors and 
windows must be closed. 

The nurse should prepare and have within easy reach 
the following: 

The baby's clothing warmed; one cup of pure home- 
rendered hog's lard, blood warm ; one cup of boric acid 
solution and a cup of cool w^ater w^ith a teaspoon; a 
bottle of two per cent solution of nitrate of silver and 
a medicine dropper ; pure castile soap ; talcum powder ; 
safety pins, large and small ; soft, warm towels, wash- 
cloth; an old, soft white cloth, and a square of white, 
absorbent cotton; a piece of white, sterilized gauze; a 
basin of warm water. 

The nurse should not sit too close to the fire, for the 
skin of a newborn baby is very sensitive and delicate. 
However, she should sit near enough for baby to be 
comfortable. The room may seem too close for the 
nurse, but the baby is the important object. 



56 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

The baby's eves should be treated first. The nurse 
may take a square of the gauze dampened Ayith a little 
clean water and gently wipe them, albeit thoroughly. 
Then, with a clean medicine dropper which has neyer 
been used, she may drop a drop of the two per cent 
solution of nitrate of silyer into each eye. This solu- 
tion is yaluable and will preyent any trouble with the 
eyes later, if there should be any cause, Next, with a 
clean square of gauze dipped in the boric acid solution 
she may yery carefully wipe out the baby's mouth, 
around the gums, sides of the cheeks and the tongue. 
She must ayoid roughness, as the membrane lining of 
the mouth is yerj tender. Finally she may giye the 
baby one or two teaspoonfuls of water to drink. 

Let it be remembered that the child's body must be 
kept coyered as much as possible. 

When born, the surface of the child is generally coy- 
ered with a thick coating of yermix caseosa, or cheesy- 
looking substance resembling lard or tallow in appear- 
ance. This is a product of the glands of the skin, and 
protects the delicate skin of the child from the influ- 
ence of the liquid or water in Ayhich it has been soaking 
before birth. Some children are more thickly covered 
than others. Soap and Ayater will not remove this coat- 
ing, but it is easily taken off by hog's lard. 

To remove this coating, which is the second step in 
the care of the baby, let the nurse take a piece of clean, 
soft, old cloth and dip into the warm hog's lard. Be- 
ginning at the head, grease the child thoroughly to its 
feet, then with clean gauze gently wipe the lard ofi:'. 
Following this, the lard may be washed off with soap 
and warm water, but great care must be used to keep 
soaj) from the baby's eyes or mouth. Some nurses have 
let soap very carelessly get into baby's eyes, causing 
the poor infant suffering, as well as inflaming its eyes. 
The nurse also must be careful in bathing baby not to 
rub too hard and break the delicate skin. 

Before any of the baby's clothing is put on, the stump 
of the cord must be dressed. A hole should be cut or 
torn in the center of the square of absorbent cotton, 
through w^hich the stump of the cord may be passed, 



THE TRI'TH ABOUT THE BABY 57 

after which the cotton is placed on the abdomen. The 
stump shonld be first powdered about with talcum 
powder, before the square of cotton is applied. The 
nurse should turn the stump upward toward the baby's 
chin, lav two or three thicknesses of gauze over the 
cotton and then apply the baby's band. Many nurses 
draw the band too tight around the abdomen, making 
the baby very uncomfortable, as well as interfering 
with its breathing and adducing other bad results. The 
band should be applied in a comfortable manner and 
pinned with small safety pins. Care should be taken 
to see that the band is smooth where pinned. 

Do not powder the baby from head to foot with tal- 
cum powder to clog the pores. The baby's skin is active 
and the pores need to be opened instead of closed up 
with powder to hinder them to throw off impurities. 
All the powder needed is a little dusted under the arms 
and in the groins. If the baby is bathed properly each 
day with plenty of soap on the washcloth, and is gently 
patted dry, there Avill be no soreness. A little olive 
oil rubbed under the arms and in the groins and creases 
will be found very healing and aid in preventing sore- 
ness. (See Care of Genital Organs.) 

The baby is now ready to receive the balance of its 
clothing. It should be put to the mother's breast, as 
the infant will need nourishment and the mother needs 
it to obtain continued contraction of the uterus. If 
the baby's feet are cold, a hot water bottle may be 
placed close to them, first wrapping the bottle in a 
piece of flannel. Placing the infant to the breast at this 
early date is most desirable, as it will learn to suck, 
whereas if it is not put there for several days the fac- 
ulty of sucking seems to be lost, at least the child Avill 
refuse to take the breast. 

If the mother wishes to have a good milk supply, the 
baby should be put to the breast regularly every two 
hours during the day and every three hours at night 
until the milk comes. If for any reason it is not placed 
there, a good dose of olive oil should be given it to work 
off the meconium with which the bowels of the newborn 
child are loaded and which must be driven out after 



58 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

birth, lest a serious impairment of tlie digestion will 
take place. 

Baby S was not put to the mother's breast to re- 
ceive what Nature had intended, until the third day. 
The excuse was, the mother's breasts might become sore 
if baby was allowed to nurse. Neither was the baby 
given olive or castor oil to unload the bowels. The 
bowels moved, but it took about four days for all the 
meconium to pass, which should have been passed dur- 
ing the first twenty-four or thirty-six hours. The result 
was, the child's digestive organs became so impaired 
that the wee life was dispaired of. The child would 
nurse regularly for twelve hours, then would vomit 
nearly all it had taken during this time. Scarcely a 
particle of food passed from the stomach into the in- 
testines. The kidneys and liver almost ceased to act. 
The baby would not void urine scarcely once in thirty- 
six hours. If ideas and theories were all laid aside and 
mother Nature had a chance, few babies would die. 

But as long as we refuse, and desire the way which 
brings disastrous results, we have to suffer. 

Warm water in a feeding bottle may be given baby 
for the first few hours to cleanse the digestive tract, 
but the practice should not be continued. 

The child should lay on its right side for the first two 
hours after birth, and then be turned regularly every 
two hours lest the head become one-sided while the 
bones are soft. The baby's head should not be covered, 
because of the active circulation and development of the 
brain after birth. Nevertheless, care must be used in 
protecting the eyes from light, both natural and artifi- 
cial. Baby should never lie and look at a bright light, 
or the nerves of the eyes may be injured. It was also 
cause sore eyes. (See Care of Baby's Eyes.) 

THE NAVEL CORD 

A clean, fresh band may be applied to the child's body 
without disturbing the stump of the navel cord. 

In four to eight days the cord will slough off, and 
when that happens, the navel should be bathed and 
greased with olive oil. A square of gauze (three 



THE TRUTH ABOUT TPIE BABY 59 

inches), comprising four or five thicknesses, may be 
greased and phiced over the navel. Over tliis may go 
the band. 

The navel should be bathed each morning Avith soap 
and water. Should there be soreness, or if the navel 
refuses to heal properly, it is excellent to dust in some 
iodoform. This will give satisfactory results. 

Unless a child is ruptured a band is not needed after 
two months, and a knitted band with shoulder pieces 
may be substituted. The purpose of the band is to keep 
in place the dressings of the cord, and to furnish sup- 
port to the abdomen, as well as protect the intestines. 
If it is too snug it will interfere with the child's breath- 
ing, as a child uses its abdominal muscles with each 
breath. Also, a tight band will often cause an infant 
to vomit. 



CHAPTER 15 

PREMATURE AND ABNORMAL CHILDREN 

The lives of many premature infants are sacrificed 
yearly because the average mother or nurse (un- 
trained) knows nothing of their care. Every effort 
must be made to conserve the heat of the prematurely 
born infant. To do this succesfully an artificial media 
must be supplied to take the place of the one that Na- 
ture had supplied. The ^'hatching" must be complete. 

Incubators are made for this purpose, similar to the 
incubator in which chickens are hatched. Where par- 
ents are unable to secure the use of an incubator, a 
useful method of obtaining heat can be used in their 
own home. To do this, take a large size clothes-basket 
and line it both with a double blanket and then with 
two or three thicknesses of newspaper. Stand around 
its sides and over the bottom a row of hot water bottles 
(beer bottles filled with hot water for the sides serve 
very nicely). Then reline with another blanket and 
place a thin pillow over the bottom I'ow of bottles. 
There you have an incubator which will answer the 
purpose. 



60 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

The infant must be supplied with an even tempera- 
ture of heat from 85 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. It is 
necessary to have a thermometer. If the infant gets too 
hot, it will become restless and breathe rapidly, or if 
too cold it will cry. These observations must guide in 
regulating the temperature. 

Prematurely-born infants should not be given a gen- 
eral bath. The entire body should be well greased with 
pure hog lard (leaf fat rendered at home is best) ; and 
the cheesy substance wiped off very carefully with cot- 
ton so as not to break the tender skin. Then let the 
infant be re-greased with the lard, and the whole body 
except round the head, face and arms should then be 
wrapped in raw cotton. Then around the whole should 
be wrapped a bandage of cheese cloth. This is best 
applied in strips of about two and one-half inches wide. 

A bunch of cotton should be placed over the anus to 
receive the urine and feces. To remove the soiled 
cotton, turn the child on its side, remove the cotton, 
wipe off the buttocks with moist cotton and replace 
with fresh cotton. The child should not be removed 
from its cotton wrapping for a soap and water bath 
until such time as it should rightfully have been born. 
A premature infant will sleep nearly all of the time, if 
kept warm and properly fed and attended. Great care 
should be taken, when the infant is to be fed on arti- 
ficial food, as premature infants are more or less prone 
to rickets. 

ABNORMAL INB'ANTS 

Not every child at birth is healthy. Sometimes it 
is not only weak, but the victim of disease, sometimes 
apparently dead, and sometimes really dead — still-born. 
The causes of these abnormal conditions are many and 
varied. They are the results of disease of the foetus 
during gestation, or the results of accidents of gesta- 
tion. 

In the beginning the child is only a small cell, then 
it grows into a matured foetus and to a child. When 
there is healthy generation, these marvelous changes 
take place naturally by law of Nature. If the building 
material out of which the future child is to be con- 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BAliY 61 

striicted is good and every element is supplied, a 
healthy, robust infant will be the natural consequence. 

Healthy men and healthy women have healthy off- 
spring naturally, providing the mother eats the proper 
food during gestation. But as all men and women are 
not health}', either having inherited some disease or 
acquired bad habits which naturally breed disease, the 
offspring of such are naturally imperfect. 

Innumerable children die before birth, or at birth, 
or shortly after birth. If the infant is born blue, with 
features shrivelled, and more or less emaciated; and 
when, instead of the hearty cry of a healthy infant, 
there is a convulsive gasp or low moans or gurgling of 
air, the child is breathing imperfectly, either because 
it is too feeble to expand its lungs or it may be pre- 
mature with its organs insufficiently developed. 

In this case, the child will need very careful hand- 
ling. It should be greased with hog's lard, but not 
bathed with soap and water. Instead, dress the cord, 
put on the binder, shirt and diaper, and wrap up well, 
keeping it warm. Sometimes there seems to be an ob- 
struction to respiration (breathing). If after washing 
out the mouth of the infant the obstruction is not re- 
moved, take the infant by its legs with its head down 
and give it a spank or brisk shake. This will often 
remove the trouble. 

One very essential thing is to apply external heat by 
means of hot water bottles or hot bricks wrapped in 
flannel and laid close enough to the child to make it 
warm and comfortable, but not close enough to burn 
the infant. Often these babies die if permitted to get 
cold. Cases have often been reported where feeble 
children have been given up for dead, but left lying 
close to a hot fire which brought them back to life. 

Another essential thing which should not be over- 
looked is nourishment. Infants have been saved by the 
use of brandy or whiskey and water. One teaspoonful 
of whiskey or brandy in five teaspoonfuls of warm, 
sweetened water will be found the proper proportion. 
One or more teaspoonfuls of this mixture (warmed), 



62 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

may be given every thirty minutes or so as may be 
necessary. 

APPARENT DEATH 

Children are sometimes born apparently dead. This 
apparent death soon becomes real death nnless proper 
means are used to forestall it. The face ma.j appear 
red with bluish spots and swollen, the eyes prominent 
and bulging; again, the child may be pale. In this 
swollen or apoplectic condition the child lies appar- 
ently dead, does not breathe or move. The heart may 
or may not beat. Sometimes twisting of the cord, or 
the cutting off of the circulation in the cord, will pro- 
duce asphyxia. 

In cases where there is every appearance of asphyxia 
and the child's head and face are swollen, the most 
successful remedy is the bleeding of the child — that is, 
cutting the cord and letting from one to three table- 
spoonfuls of blood escape. If the cord does not bleed, 
there is little hope. Often while the blood is escaping 
from the cord a rosy tint will appear, first in the lips, 
then in the face of the child, and finally over the body. 
The child will breathe and its life is saved. The cord 
should be tied, so that the child will not bleed too much. 

If no blood comes from the cord or if the bleeding has 
no effect on the child, the next remedy is a hot bath, 
with temperature at 100° or 105° F. However, be sure 
that the water is not too hot as to scald the infant. 
This bath will act as a stimulant, relieve the over- 
loaded brain, and equalize circulation. The basin or 
bucket of hot water may be brought to the bed if the 
child has not been separated from the cord. Plunge 
the body in, leaving the head and face above the water. 
Let the child remain in the water for two or three sec- 
onds, then take the body of the infant out and dash 
cold water on the warm skin. This will often cause a 
sudden and full respiration. 

Should bleeding and hot water both fail to bring the 
child to life, then the only hope is false respiration. 
This is done by opening the mouth of the infant and 
blowing directly into its lungs. The attendant should 
place her mouth squarely next the mouth of the child. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 63 

The nostrils must be held so as to prevent the air from 
escaping. Press on the stomach and blow in the mouth ; 
and when the lungs fill, press gently on the stomach to 
expel air. Repeat this as long as desirable. 

Cases frequently happen where the child is born 
apparently dead, but the swollen, apoplectic appearance 
is absent and the child is pale, seeming exhausted. A 
prolonged labor sometimes produces the extreme pallor. 
In this case, there is too little blood instead of too much 
as in the above instances. The cord must not be cut, 
but a large basin of Avater must be brought to the bed 
and the child, still attached to the cord, be plunged 
into the water. After one half minute, its body may 
be brought to the surface and cold water dashed in its 
face. After all pulsation in the navel cord has ceased, 
separate the child, grease and wrap in warm blankets 
and keep the infant warm. Brandy and water 
(warmed), may be given to revive the child as much as 
possible. 

These directions are to be followed only when no 
physician can be had. No woman should be without 
medical aid unless such is impossible. 



CHAPTER 16 

CARE OF GENITAL ORGANS 

It is of the greatest importance to begin in early 
infancy an intelligent inspection and cleansing of the 
genital organs of either male or female. Although 
highly important, this frequently receives very scant 
attention. Nevertheless, it has such bearing upon the 
health of the boy or girl that no wise mother with the 
well-being of her child at heart will permit any pre- 
conceived ideas or notions of others to influence her 
or deter her. 

With girls, the caring of the genital organs is easier 
than with boys, but equally important. Let them be 
cleansed with soap and water, both vulva and clitoris, 
holding the lips open with the fingers. See that all 
secretions are washed away. Soap used freely will 



64 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

often prevent irritations, and at the same time cure 
soreness. 

Never use talcum powder on the genital organs of a 
girl. In between the lips and about the clitoris it rolls 
up and is difficult to wash away. Uncleanliness causes 
irritation and trouble. Be sure to soap the wash cloth 
well, and after cleansing the organs, dry and apply 
olive oil instead of powder. Talcum powder may be 
used in the groins. 

Keeping these parts clean will prevent the formation 
of bad habits, habits not alone loathsome and disgust- 
ing, but detrimental to the phild's future health. Some- 
times the clitoris has became adhered and there is fre- 
quent desire to urinate, with other distressing symp- 
toms. The results will be the same as they are with 
boys that need circumcision, if the girl is not taken to 
a physician for operation and treatment. Let every 
mother be sure there is no abnormal condition of the 
genital organs. Have a physician make an examination 
of the organs when the child is one year old or less. 

MALE CHILDREN 

Immediately after birth the boy's penis should be 
examined by a physician to be certain there is an open- 
ing large enough for the child to pass urine. The fore- 
skin should be draAvn back over the shaft of the penis 
every morning, and any secretions be washed away 
with soap and water. Vaseline should be applied and 
the foreskin drawn back over the glans penis again. 
If the foreskin is not thus drawn back, the penis will 
become swollen and there will be serious results. If 
the foreskin is not easily pushed back from the glans 
penis, do not try to force it back. Instead, the boy 
should be circumcised. 

There are many who do not believe in circumcision ; 
just why is not clearly stated. Some think it is a 
Jewish law; but God made man, and He knew what 
cleanliness meant. Just why the foreskin of the penis 
is too long, no one can probably explain. Ultra-uterine 
life may have some bearing on the explanation. 

When the foreskin is not pro^Dcrly attended to, there 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 65 

are premature erections, bed-wetting, playing with the 
penis, and masturbation which Avrecks the health and 
life of the boy, making him unfit for fatherhood and a 
slave to one of the most revolting habits man ever in- 
dulged in. Surprising results have been accomplished 
bv this simple operation of removing the foreskin. 

On the other hand, alarming results have come from 
neglecting to push back the foreskin and washing imme- 
diately after birth. If this is overlooked, the orifice in 
the foreskin has so closed that it is impossible to push 
it back, and an operation is necessary, or inflamma- 
tion will set in just underneath the foreskin, growing 
fast to the glans penis. The child is irritable, nervous, 
dull, stupid. An accumulation of secretions collects 
beneath the foreskin, causing the irritation and fre- 
quent desire to urinate, as well as other distressing 
symptoms through direct impressions upon some of the 
delicate nerves. This irritation will create premature 
erections, leading the child to handle the penis, so that 
in infancy or early childhood it forms the habit of 
masturbation, Avhich often causes epileptic fits, idocj^ 
or St. Vitas' dance; in many a run down system that 
easily takes on disease. These symptoms do not mani- 
fest themselves at the outset, but later. Our insane 
asylums are filled with men and women who have prac- 
ticed masturbation. 

Mothers should be on their guard to keep watch upon 
their children, taking care that the genital organs are 
kept clean and that there are no signs of irritation. 
When a mother sees her child inclining toward bad 
habits, or if there is extreme nervousness or dullness, 
the child should be taken to a physician. 

All male children should be circumcised for many 
reasons. This operation should be performed when the 
child is about two weeks old. If not then, it had best 
be done when it is eighteen months old, when an anas- 
thetic may be given. 

AFTER CIRCUMCISION 

After the child has been circumcised, the penis should 
be well cared for until healing takes place. 



66 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

In this sterilized gauze and pure white vaseline may 
be used. Take a silver knife which has been scalded, 
and spread a square of gauze with the vaseline, laying 
it then over the penis. Some children will refuse to 
urinate for long periods immediately after circum- 
cision, as the salty urine smarts. An effective way to 
get the child to urinate is to take sterilized water, 
blood warm, and let it drip upon the penis. The con- 
tact of the warm water will prevent the urine from 
smarting and compel the child to pass water. When 
the child desires to urinate it will start to cry as if 
something had hurt it. 



CHAPTER 17 

THE NURSING MOTHER 

Nursing mothers should eat only such food as will 
be beneficial to the baby. Cabbage, lemons, pickles, 
etc., are not agreeable, and all food containing too much 
acid causes the milk to be affected and baby Avill vomit 
more or less or have diarrh(ea. The nursing mother 
should never use alcoholic drinks, beer, wine, whiskey 
or any malt extract, nor any drink containing barley; 
as these things cause too much acid in the milk and 
will bring about indigestion, diarrhoea and vomiting. 

Nursing mothers should not put their hands in cold 
water, or expose the breasts unnecessarily, as there is 
danger of cold settling in and causing trouble. The 
secretion of milk is easily affected by the nervous sys- 
tem, while worry or excitement have a detrimental 
effect on its quality. 

HOW TO HAVE MILK 

When a mother has reason to believe that her milk 
will be of good quality, and her health is good, if she 
desires to suckle her infant the following method of 
obtaining an abundant supply has been found very 
successful : 

Let baby nurse regularly every two hours during the 
day, whether asleep or awake, from the hour of birth. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 67 

This undoubtedh^ will stimulate the mammary glands 
to secrete a larger supply because of frequent stimula- 
tion. If bab}^ was left to its natural instinct and per- 
mitted to suckle when it was ready, as animals do, more 
mothers would ha ye milk than do at the present time, 
for it would cause more actiyity in the mammary 
glands. Let baby nurse eyery three or four hours at 
night. If the milk supply is not large, when baby is 
two weeks old or more, and the mother still desires to 
nurse baby, the flow can be increased to a large degree. 

An eastern physician had such wonderful success in 
increasing the mother's flow of milk that he was led to 
exclaim, "I can bring a maid to milk." 

He used a head of green cabbage, the method being 
as follows: 

First take four leayes, large enough to coyer each 
breast. Lay a leaf at a time on the bread-board and 
with a rolling-pin press out the hard lumps or yeins 
in the cabbage leaf. This of course will bruise the leaf 
to some extent. Haye ready four squares of cheese- 
cloth, and lay a leaf of cabbage on each piece of cheese- 
cloth. Lay two pieces of cheesecloth and two leayes of 
cabbage in the oyen at one time, and when they become 
as hot as can be borne, place a leaf on each breast, the 
cabbage next the flesh, with the cheesecloth on top 
to handle the limp leaf. 

Haye the other two leayes warming in the oyen to 
put on as soon as the first two are cooled. The cabbage 
will make a poultice that will stimulate the mammary 
glands and draw in such a way as to increase largely 
the milk flow. Women who had almost "dried-up" 
were brought back to their milk by this method. The 
treatment must be continued for seyeral hours, or until 
the supply comes, letting baby nurse regularly. When 
the milk comes, let baby feed till satisfied, then milk 
out what is left in the breasts, lest the milk will dry up. 
When the baby's gastric capacity increases, as it always 
does, then the mother will haye a suflScient amount of 
milk to supply the baby's needs, if she keeps up the 
amount that she had in the beginning. 



68 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

HOW TO HOLD THE CHILD. 

Infants held awkT\'ardlT to the breast often find diffi- 
cnltv in retaining the nipple, and may refuse the breast 
and be fretful. The mother should hold the child com- 
fortably, placing it partly on its side. She should not 
hold herself too erect, but bend oyer the child so that 
the nipple will drop easily into its mouth. Let her 
support the breast with the t^yo first fingers of her un- 
occupied hand, so as to keep the breast steady while the 
child nurses, and let the other two fingers support the 
under part of the breast, lifting it up. Otherwise it 
would hang down in such a way as to preyent the child 
from getting the full supply of milk. 

If the milk flows too rapidly, as it sometimes does, 
it may cause baby to yomit. The flow may be regulated 
better by pressing gently with the two fingers which 
hold the breast. 

DRYIXG UP BREAST MILK 

Many mothers haye found more or less difficulty in 
drying up their breast milk. Some will resort to cam- 
phor or belladonna, which is yery effectiye, but injur- 
ious to the mammary glands and naturally lessens the 
chances of haying sufficient milk supply for the next 
child. 

Xo remedy whateyer should be used by a mother who 
wishes to haye milk for succeeding offspring. If the 
milk is to be dried up in the beginning, and the infant 
is not to be suckled, the best plan is to bind the breasts 
smoothly and firmly. This will preyent the milk flow- 
ing as freely into the veins of the breasts. Milk out as 
little as possible and as far apart as conyenient. Warm 
oliye oil may be used to massage the breasts to take 
out the cakes. Warm antiphlogistin is also excellent 
for caked and feyered breasts, also oil of peperment. 

DIFFEREXT METHODS OF FEEDING 

The different methods of feeding infants are: (1), 
breast feeding; (2), mixed feeding; (3), combined 
nursing and artificial feeding; and (I), artificial feed- 
ing: exclusiyely. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 69 

In deciding which of these methods should be used, 
circumstances must be taken into consideration. The 
health of the mother is the first thing to be noted, to- 
gether with her abilitj' to nurse baby. If her health 
is good and she has an abundance of good, properly- 
constituted milk, then it would be almost a crime to 
refuse to nurse her offspring. 

If the milk is good and baby digests it properly, but 
the amount is insufficient, she may nurse it and use 
artificial feeding also with good results. 

If the mother fails to have milk, or the milk dis- 
agrees, then artificial feeding must be resorted to. 



CHAPTER 18 

UNSUCCESSFUL NURSING 

Imperfect or insufficient nutrition constitutes the 
most common form of disease and furnishes the most 
frequent cause of death in infants. 

The supply of food in many cases, may be actually 
insufficient, but there are also many cases where babies 
are fed systematically and persistently upon milk or 
food they cannot digest. 

Mother's milk does not always agree, or the mother 
may have an abundance but the milk may be poor and 
watery. When the mother is weak or anemic and evi- 
dently ill-nourished, her milk no doubt must suffer from 
the impoverished state of her blood. Then again, the 
mother may be perfectly healthy without weakness, but 
her milk may be of an inferior quality and so starve 
the baby. 

A test was made of eighty-nine infants suckled by 
women in apparently good health. Fifteen were found 
to be poorly-nourished. Milk that is either too Avatery 
or too rich will not nourish an infant. When a child 
constantly requires the breast, sucks his fists between 
meals or sucks at the breast laboriously, it is an indi- 
cation that the milk does not satisfy or is not enough 
to satisfy. Baby should be weighed every week. Why 
this is so often neglected is because mothers do not 



70 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

realize the vast importance of a steady weekly increase 
of the bodily weight. (See Importance of Weighing 
Baby.) When baby is being suckled and does not gain, 
it shows that something is wrong. 

Attempts at nursing so often result in failure, en- 
dangering the life and health of the promising infant, 
that it is a matter of vital importance to decide the 
question of nursing rightly and as early as possible. 
If artificial feeding is to be employed the difficulties 
are fewer when begun early than after the digestive 
organs have been deranged. 

When the mother's milk fails to nourish baby prop- 
erly, the child does not gain. The stools are not only 
often frequent, thin, and sometimes green, but often 
thin and yellow (the natural color) ; and contain small 
white curds of undigested milk, showing that baby can- 
not properly digest its food. If baby is constipated 
there will be colic. Sometimes there will be vomiting, 
diarrhoea and severe colic. Again, all of the above 
symptoms may be absent, yet the child will fret and 
worry, and its sleep be broken. When the stool is green 
or contains white curds, maternal nursing is not suc- 
cessful. 

Sometimes there is a scant supply of milk and it may 
be too rich. Often the breasts contain little or no milk, 
yet seem large and full. A young, inexperienced 
mother cannot tell whether she has an abundance of 
milk, or none. 

The baby-s stomach may not be strong enough to 
handle the mother's milk in the period in which its 
character alters. This takes place shortly after lacata- 
tion begins. The baby may suddenly commence to cry, 
even after it has thrived on the mother's milk, and small 
white curds will appear in the stool. The trouble can 
often be remedied by putting the infant on a food which 
it can easily digest for a few days to strengthen its 
stomach. During this time the mother may retain her 
milk supply by drawing the milk out at regular inter- 
vals. 

An interesting case of this kind was Mrs. K, Her 
baby had gained a pound in the second week, but the 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 71 

increase in weight began to fall off and grow less. The 
intervals between nnrsings were lengthened for some 
reason. White curds and mucus appeared in the stool. 
After suckling, the baby appeared much distressed. 
Finally it began to moan, and when put to the breast, 
refused to nurse. The mother was in despair. Baby 
was given medicine for indigestion, which of course 
did not put the required strength in the stomach. The 
baby was finally taken from the breast and put on 
Dennos food for a few days. All symptoms of indi- 
gestion disappeared, the baby became happj^ and satis- 
fied. The mother kept her milk supply by milking it 
out at intervals both day and night. Gradually the 
baby was put back on the breast milk and the bottle 
put aside. The baby continued to thrive on its mother's 
milk without any further trouble. Dennos built up its 
little stomach so it was strong enough to digest the 
mother's milk. 



CHAPTER 19 

FIRST DAYS OF NURSING 

The young animal begins to receive its nourishment 
immediately after birth, one of its first acts being to look 
for its dinner. As this is a natural instinct, the mother 
animal has better sense than to refuse. A correspond- 
ing increase in weight takes place almost from the first 
day of life. 

The human infant in like manner should begin with 
its nursing after it has been greased and bathed, getting 
what it can from the breasts until the full supply of 
milk has come. After the babe is bathed, it should be 
immediately put to the breast (providing it is to be 
suckled). A baby seldom will refuse to make at least 
an attempt, as nearly all infants are born hungry, a 
thing which is natural with all young. This course 
has several advantages ; it insures the proper contrac- 
tions of the uterus, for when once the child has taken 
the breasts, no danger from after hemorrhage is to be 
expected; secondly, the child has the benefit of the 



72 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

colostrom, which is in the breasts and Avhich precedes 
the appearance of milk, acting as a gentle laxative upon 
the bowels, clearing out the dark-looking substance, 
meconium, with which the bowels are loaded. This sub- 
stance must be removed after birth, or it will impair 
the digestive system. 

The nipple is drawn out while the breast is still soft, 
and the child is accustomed to taking hold of it, even 
before the milk comes. If suckling is delayed until the 
secretion of milk has become regularly established, the 
breasts will distend with the secretion so as to hide 
almost the nipple. The child then has great difficulty 
in obtaining its hold of the nipple and may refuse to 
take it. If the nipple is wet each time before the babe 
is put to the breast, the pain of suckling will be lessened. 
After each nursing the nipple should be washed with 
a boric acid solution. 

If the child is not satisfied after having attempted 
both breasts, it should be given some warm water by 
means of a bottle and nipple. A spoon should never 
be used to feed a little baby, as the infant must be 
taught to suck, or the art of sucking soon seems to be 
lost. A baby soon learns that by the act of sucking 
something comes, and it will suck anything available — 
breast, rubber nipple, or a pacifier. The notion that 
baby may have the colic and is not hungry, because it 
cries and will not sleep, is erroneous. Even if Nature 
did not send a supply of milk right at birth, it should 
not be taken as a sign that the baby is not hungry. 
Nourishment was supplied constantly before birth and 
the boAvels were filled at birth; but Nature expected 
human beings to have sense enough to feed Avhen baby 
cries because it is hungry. 

Give warm water two or three ounces at a time for 
the first twelve hours if baby is not satisfied after 
trying both breasts; then, if milk is diluted five parts 
water to one part cow's milk, and is modified with 
Dennos before it is given, the bab}^ will always digest 
it, sleep and cause no trouble. If the baby is fed after 
this manner there will not be the large loss in weight 
to recover, on account of which the infant is sometimes 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 73 

handicapped at the very beginning of its career, wlien 
there is the most danger to be expected from a depres- 
sion of its nutrition. 

The first month of a child's life is the most critical 
period for the infant. The younger the infant, the 
greater the metabolic activity and hence the greater 
need of frequent feeding. Nutriment is required not 
only for repair of waste, but also for rapid growth. 

Some mothers believe in allowing baby to nurse from 
fifteen to twenty minutes every two hours, then length- 
ening out the time between feedings as soon as possible. 

Fifteen or twenty minutes may be long enough for 
baby to nurse, where the milk flows freely during the 
nursing and when the baby is a rapid eater. 

Some babies nurse slowly and stop often to rest, then 
in many cases the mothers milk comes slowly after the 
first five minutes. In the latter named case, fifteen or 
twenty minutes is not long enough. Then when the 
nursing time is lengthened out, the milk supply com- 
mences to fail. Nature secretes only when taken and 
the mammary glands become less active. 

Because of improper treatment it has become a rec- 
ognized fact, babies lose in weight the first week of life. 
This is unnecessary. If hahj was allowed to follow its 
natural instinct to nurse frequently and if not satis- 
fied, was then allowed a few feedings of some easily 
digested food properly treated, there would not be this 
loss of weight to handicap the new born infant. 

Baby A was placed regularly to the mother's 

breast. Six hours after birth baby was given two tea- 
spoonfuls of castor oil to clear out the meconium from 
the bowels, and the mucus from the stomach. A few 
feedings of warm soda water was then given to aid in 
passing off the gas. As the mother's breasts did not 
contain enough nourishment to satisfy the baby, a di- 
luted, easily digested food was given, with a few drops 
of milk of magnesia to work off the constipating effects 
of the castor oil. At the end of the first week of Baby 

A 's life, she showed a gain of three-fourths of a 

pound. This system has been tried in other cases with 



74 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

excellent results, showing that the loss of weight during 
the first week of life is unnecessarj'. 

HOW INFANTS GENERALLY ACT 

If baby is born in the morning, noon or night, usually 
it will turn night into day. Why this should be true 
no one has ever explained satisfactorily. Some have 
thought that the baby's morning bath exerted a charm- 
ing influence. All mothers know that a baby will sleep 
better and longer if it will sleep at all, just after the 
morning bath. Day and night are all the same to the 
baby's stomach. It is just as anxious to eat at night, 
and sometimes is more so, than it was during the day. 

A satisfied baby will sleep most of the time during 
the first two months. All babies begin to get wakeful 
and cross about evening. 

There are many explanations for baby's fretfulness. 
The band may be too tight ; the clothing may be wet or 
uncomfortable. The mouth may be sore ; baby may have 
a cold, and the little throat may be raw. Sometimes 
babies have an ear-ache, or gathering in the head. Baby 
may be hungry, or the buttocks may be irritated. Pos- 
sibly the flannel band or shirt is causing the baby to 
be restless. Often the feet and hands are cold. Turn 
baby often, and do not lay it on its back or let strong 
light shine on it. 

During the first month a young infant has a large 
amount of gas, because of the great activity of the di- 
gestive organs. This should begin to lessen to some 
extent in the second month and still more in the third 
month. It may often make the baby restless after 
eating, or until belched. (See Colic.) Most all little 
babies will spit up small amounts of its food. Often 
babies will have hiccoughs for the first few months. 
Babies generally have what is called a "baby rash," 
when it is two or three weeks old. The impurities in 
the blood comes to the surface after birth, if not, a child 
mav have eczema later in babvhood. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 75 

CHAPTER 20 

INABILITY TO NURSE 

In spite of all efforts, it is a fact that maternal nurs- 
ing is steadily diminishing. A smaller percentage of 
mothers year by year are able to nurse their offspring. 
Some mothers are able to nurse the first and second 
babies, but the amount of milk grows less with each 
succeeding child. Some healthy mothers will give large 
quantities of milk, but the milk will be thin and blue 
and sometimes bitter. There is nothing that gives 
poorer results than bad nursing. The chances of suc- 
cess are small and the difficulties are increased by even 
a few weeks of bad nursing. An indigestible food of 
any kind, whether mother's milk or other foods, do baby 
much injury. But when baby is started with healthy 
digestive organs and an easily digested food, it suffers 
no setback and bottle feeding is successful. 

Sometimes mother's milk will agree with baby for a 
short time, then fail longer to agree. A mother who is 
able to nurse her baby for a full year is almost a phe- 
nomenon. Some have declared that mothers fail to 
nurse baby because they preferred to put them on the 
bottle, and that it is less trouble. But this is rarely 
the case. Many mothers earnestly and intelligently 
try to nurse their infants, but the milk is either unfit 
or so small in quantity that it is quite impossible. 

WHEN NURSING SHOULD NOT BE ATTE:MPTED 

No mother should attempt to nurse her baby : 
When she is subject to tuberculosis in any form; 
When she has had convulsions or is epileptic ; 

When she has any chronic disease, is very delicate or 
nervous, is anemic, because great harm may be done 
to the mother without any benefit to the child. 

When she has shown her inability on one or two 
previous babies to nurse under favorable conditions. 



'76 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 



CHAPTER 21 

WHY MILK FAILS TO COME 

Years ago mothers were able to nurse their children. 
There were very few books written on the subject, and 
the mother and babe guided themselves by natural in- 
stinct. In those days when baby cried it was conceded 
naturally that it was hungry and therefore placed to 
the breast. But in these last few years many mothers 
have attempted to raise their babies scientifically 
(so-called), with the result that fewer mothers each 
year are able to suckle their offspring. 

After a careful investigation the following was found 
to be a fact: In the beginning, instead of putting the 
baby to the breast regularly every two hours after birth 
so as to stimulate the mammary glands into action 
during the day and every three hours at night, the 
baby was suckled every four hours or more during 
the day and every five or six hours at night. The baby 
naturally cried and caused considerable trouble, just 
at the time the mother needed rest and quiet. Some- 
times the milk supply, in spite of the treatment, was 
apparently abundant. The babe was allowed to nurse 
just a certain number of minutes; at night one or two 
nursings were permitted; if baby cried from hunger 
he had to wait until the regular time. The regular time 
idea was all right, if the intervals were not too far 
apart. 

A baby should be allowed to nurse every hour and 
one-half for the first month, because of the activity of 
the digestive tract. An infant's gastric capacity more 
than doubles the first month of its life ; and it is sup- 
posed to increase most rapidly in its weight. A baby 
should nurse every three and one-half hours, or three 
times, during the night. A baby should feed until sat- 
isfied, and take both breasts if necessary. 

There is another reason to explain the failure of an 
abundant supply of milk and requisition of the bottle. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 77 

An infant's gastric capacity begins to increase from the 
first day of life, and makes its greatest increase during 
the first two months. Following this it grows more 
gradually, albeit steadily. The baby of course is unable 
to take all of a normal supply of milk at the beginning, 
and the result is that the supply will begin to diminish 
in quantity, while in the meantime the infant's capacity 
grows. Finally the milk has dried up to such an extent 
that before the mother realizes it, baby is hungry and 
there is not enough to satisfy it. 

When the milk agrees with baby and there is an 
abundant supply, baby should be permitted to feed 
every hour and one-half throughout the day. By so 
doing its body w411 be built up rapidly, while the 
stomach increases in strength, until it is able to handle 
the change in the character of the mother's milk which 
occurs continually. If, howeyer, baby is not able to^ 
digest it, the mother must wean it. All dairy men know 
that if the cows are not milked dry at each milking the 
cows will soon dry up. It is also true of the mother. 
An abundant supply must be retained by milking out 
what baby leaves in the breast after each nursing. 

Mrs. C. had a large supply of milk. Her baby thrived 
beautifully, but after each feeding would vomit some 
of the food. The feeding time was lengthened to three 
hours and the time at the breast was shortened. The 
vomiting grew worse, until baby ceased to gain. The 
intervals between feeding were lengthened even more, 
and the baby was only permitted to nurse five minutes, 
every three hours. Vomiting became still worse. The 
little body became thin and the mother found her 
supply of milk was gone. The long intervals between 
nursing weakened the baby's powders of digestion, be- 
sides transforming the good milk into a substance 
unfit for the infant's power of digestion. Therefore the 
baby had been gaining in spite of the vomiting Avhich 
was not entirely serious of itself at the beginning. 

PROPER PERIODS OF NURSING 

There is one point where artificial feeding has the ad- 
vantage over the breast-feeding — in the intervals of 



78 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

nursing. Too prolonged intervals often so disturb 
the quality of the human breast milk that they may 
transform a perfectly good milk into milk entirely unfit 
for the infantile power of digestion, besides drying the 
milk supply until baby is given indigestion from lack 
of nourishment. 

Too frequent nursing lessens the water and increases 
the total solids in human milk, causing indigestion; 
while too prolonged intervals result in such a decrease 
of total solids as to render an otherwise good milk too 
watery and unfit for nutrition, however well it might 
be digested. A mother should not nurse her babe too 
frequently and thus give it a too-concentrated food; 
nor neglect to nurse it often enough and thus give it 
a too-largely diluted food. Mothers that have a large 
supply of milk, yet fail to nourish their infant properly 
so that its stools are scant and thin, should try drawing 
off about one-third the milk before each nursing and let 
the babe have the balance. 

The fore or first milk is very watery ; the middle milk 
is a rich-appearing fluid; while the strippings, or last 
of the milk is very rich. In analysis there is a big 
difference between the fore milk and the strippings. 

Let the babe empty both breasts if need be. The 
majority of young infants desire to nurse every one and 
one-half hours. There are two distinct elements in 
infant feeding, digestive and nutrition — it being pos- 
sible for milk to be easily digested and not nutritious ; 
or again highly nutritious but difficult to digest. As- 
similation and digestion are two different things. If a 
child receives a too weak food or too rich food, indi- 
gestion will be the result in either case. Indigestion 
will sometimes take the form of habitual vomiting; or 
as the case may be, diarrhoea, when the indigestion is 
principally in the intestines. 

Nursing mothers should never drink malt or any 
drink containing barley, or intoxicating drinks, in 
order to increase the flow of milk. This makes the milk 
too acid and will frequently produce vomiting and 
diarrhoea. Grain drinks, wheat or rye parched and 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 79 

groiiud and made into a drink like coffee will increase 
both the quality and quantity of human milk. 

LACK OF MILK SUPPLY 

When there is an abundance of milk, the baby will 
finish its nursing satisfied, with milk dripping from 
its lips. Often it will have difficulty in swallowing be- 
cause it will come so fast that it will choke the little 
babe at times. While it is at one breast the milk will 
flow from the other. When the infant starts to nurse 
the mother will feel the milk flow down in the veins, 
causing a painful sensation. The breasts will distend 
and become hard with the secretion. At frequent in- 
tervals between nursings, the mother will feel the milk 
coming in. 

Some mothers think that if they are able to squeeze 
out a drop or two of milk after baby is through nurs- 
ing, they must have milk ; but this is not a sign. When 
there is a large supply of milk the mother will know 
it without a doubt. Large breasts do not indicate that 
there is plenty. 

One young mother having large breasts naturally 
thought she had milk for her baby. No one had told 
her how to ascertain whether she had milk. She could 
squeeze out a drop or two after baby had tried to nurse, 
and so concluded that it must. have had enough. The 
stool was scant and thin; an enema or physic was 
given; but even then there was scarcely any passage. 
The mother made up her mind the baby must be exceed- 
ingly constipated. Still baby did not gain and became 
very cross, restless, and refused to sleep during the day. 
Finally the mother put baby on the bottle, giving it 
what its appetite demanded every two hours. Baby 
gained steadily, slept well ; and all traces of constipa- 
tion disappeared, the stool being full of substance. 



CHAPTER 22 

MIXED FEEDING AND THE BOTTLE 

By the term "mixed feeding," is meant a combina- 
tion of nursing and artificial feeding from a bottle. 



80 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

Mixed feeding may be resorted to whenever the milk 
supply of the mother is insufficient, though it agrees 
with baby. Or, when a Avet nurse is employed, if baby 
is given the bottle once or twice during the day, it 
grows accustomed to the bottle in case anything should 
happen. 

If the mother does not have a sufficient quantity, she 
should not reserve the milk in her breasts during the 
day for night nursing. It is unfit for any infants to 
use. Such practice cannot be condemned too strongly ; 
as many babies have been made seriously ill by such 
reservation. 

Stimulation to secretion of milk is produced by the 
nursing of the child; and when a mother has a small 
supply of milk, the baby should be compelled to empty 
both breasts at each nursing time ; and then pei'mitted 
to finish on the bottle. This method has proven very 
successful. The food given baby through the bottle 
must be made sweeter than ordinarily, as mother's milk 
is very sweet and it is natural for all babies to like 
sweet things. The baby may even refuse the bottle 
unless the food is sweet. 

Two heaping teaspoonfulspr more of white sugar to 
one pint of liquid and one-fourth of a teaspoon of salt, 
will make the food palatable and take away the sicken- 
ing sweet taste. Granulated sugar is best, because it 
will sweeten without giving the baby indigestion and 
green stools. It takes such a large amount of sugar of 
milk to sweeten sufficiently, that baby might have in- 
digestion. 

The hole in the nipple must be so that baby can get 
the food easily without hard sucking. Breast-fed in- 
fants will refuse to draw much on a rubber nipple. 
Nature sends down her supply of milk in such fashion 
that baby does not need to suck hard, and so baby may 
often refuse the bottle on this account. 

After baby has emptied both breasts, let it feed at 
the bottle until satisfied, for there is no way of telling 
the amount that was obtained directly from the mother, 
and baby must have enough to satisfy perfectly, or it 
will not thrive and prosper. Make certain that the 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 81 

milk is kept at the proper temperature, for baby is 
accustomed to having it warm — not hot or cold — other- 
wise he will object to it. 

GETTING BABY TO TAKE THE BOTTLE 

After a baby has suckled at the breast for a few 
months, it is often difficult to get it to take the bottle. 

Success sometimes is obtained by making the arti- 
ficial food very sweet. Then again, much depends on 
the nipple. The hole must be so that the milk will 
flow through rapidly — preferable a soft nipple, one that 
will not collapse. Some babies w^ll take the Hygeia 
nipple ; and many babies will refuse absolutely to touch 
it. Put a little pure honey on the nipple and have the 
milk sweet and at the proper temperature, neither too 
hot nor too cold, so that baby will have no room to 
object on this score. 

An infant will sometimes get unusually hungry be- 
fore it will submit, but if the above methods are used, 
eventually it Avill give in, unless it is over eight months 
old; and then generally cup and spoon must be used. 
One important secret is to make the food sweet enough 
so that baby will take it. 

Baby W. was suckled until one year old, but never 
thrived as she should. At this time she became very 
sick ; and finally all hope of saving her life was aband- 
oned. She was suffering with tubercular meningitis. 
Although her mother was obliged to wean her, she re- 
fused all artificial food, the food being prepared as 
directed and containing a certain amount of sugar. 
The baby grew weaker and more hopeless. At last a 
nurse was obtained who understood babies. She began 
to prepare food for the little patient, and the mother re- 
quested that no sugar be added, as the baby did not 
like sugar. The nurse, however, put in a small amount. 
The baby took one or two swallows, then refused to take 
more. 

''T told you she would not eat any sugar in her food," 
the mother declared. The nurse prepared a fresh sup- 
ply, Avith no sugar at all. Baby spit out the milk and 
would not even swallow it. The mother was in despair. 



82 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

The nurse took a portion of the milk and made it very 
sweet, then took it to the baby. To the astonishment 
of the mother, she ate as if she was starved. 

The poor baby had almost been starved to death be- 
cause she wanted sweet, palatable food, and refused all 
other. 

THE HOLE IN BABY'S NIPPLE 

The hole in the rubber nipple is a very important 
feature, yet one that receives very little consideration. 
Nature never intended baby to suck, and suck and so 
wear out its jaws and make the little, tender mouth 
sore by having a hole in the nipple that no nourishment 
can pass through without the hardest kind of labor. 
When baby is suckled at the breast Nature sends down 
a supply of milk as soon as baby starts to draw or 
touches its mouth to the nipple. The milk flows fast 
and abundantly. Even in the animal kingdom this is 
true. Why then should it be necessary for hsihj to work 
like a trooper for its nourishment, when put on a bottle. 
It is an unnatural method. Furthermore, when the 
food in the bottle comes so slowly, the food cools, and 
the baby gives up in disgust. 

Take a common black or white-headed pin — a better 
size than a steel hatpin — and heat it over a flame until 
the point glows red; then very carefully burn a hole 
just using the point of the pin. Make the hole large 
enough so that baby may get its dinner of six or eight 
ounces in twenty minutes or less ; two ounces in five 
minutes ; four ounces in ten minutes. 

Some mothers will make the hole so large that baby 
will refuse to take the milk, foi^ it will run out of his 
mouth before he can swallow it; and no opportunity is 
given for any sucking. 

When food is warmed and put in a bottle, the 
warmed air in the bottle will force the milk out in a 
straight stream, and then, unless the hole is the proper 
size, the food will not come out Avhen it has cooled a 
trifle. This tends to make it very deceiving. 

PROPER FEEDING TEMPERATURE 

An infant frequently refuses to take cooled food. 
Cold food injures the digestive organs, as digestion 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 83 

cannot take place properly until the stomach has first 
warmed the food. This overtaxes the stomach and 
causes indigestion. Too hot food is as injurious as 
food that is too cold. Diarrhoea is caused by food that 
is either too hot or too cold. A baby should take eight 
or ten ounces of liquid in about fifteen minutes. The 
bottle should be warmed and wrapped in a warm cloth. 
The proper feeding temperature is 98° F. The bottle 
should be warmed separately. Too hot feedings cause 
sore mouth, irritated stomach, and intestinal disorders, 
as too hot feedings are more dangerous than too cold. 
A condition may be created by one feeding, given too 
hot, that will take months of unusual care to remedy. 
Even hand-raised calves have been killed by feeding 
milk which was too hot, taking scours (diarrhoea) and 
dying. In each case the stomach and intestines became 
highly irritated. As few women can properly test the 
temperature of baby's milk, either getting the food too 
warm one time or not warm enough the next, every 
mother should use a thermometer, to be on the safe side. 



C H A P T E K 23 

THE IMPORTANCE OF WEIGHING BABY 

A great mistake is made by many mothers who guess 
about their infant's progress. The importance of weigh- 
ing baby once or twice a week should be deeply im- 
pressed upon their minds. The rate at which a baby 
gains is a sure indicator of its health and safety. 
Baby's growth and strength are shown by the scales. 
When it steadily gains weight, it is a sign of health. 

Babies almost always lose from half a pound to three- 
fourths of a pound during the first week of life, because 
few people will give them any nourishment except water 
for the first three days. The child suffers from depres- 
sion of its nutrition, often receiving a handicap at the 
very beginning. There are cases where the person in 
charge did not believe in withholding nourishment be- 
cause Nature was tardy in sending a supply, and the 
baby was given a weak, easily-digested food after the 



84 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

first twelve hours. The babies then did not lose any- 
thing during the first week, and gained three-fourths of 
a pound in the second week. 

After the first week a child should gain from one-half 
pound to a pound. If well-fed, one pound a week 
should be gained for the first six weeks, then one-half 
pound or three-quarters until the ninth or tenth week. 
After this a healthy, well-fed child will gain from one- 
fourth to one-half pound until about five months old. 

There are many instances where a healthy baby will 
not gain one week, and then will make up for lost time 
the following week. After a child is five months old 
the gain will be a monthly gain of about one or two 
pounds per month. When baby is very young, the 
gain should be a daily one, because of the great activity 
in the whole body. 

Baby should be weighed naked, and on scales that 
show the ounces. The hook scale with baby suspended 
to the hook in a napkin is not accurate, as it does not 
show ounces correctly, and unless held a certain way 
the index binds, and prevents the telling of baby's 
weight. Furthermore, these scales are not safe. 

^Irs. S. was much concerned because she did not 
think her baby was gaining fast enough. The baby 
was being weighed on hook scales. As its head was 
hanging in an uncomfortable position outside the nap- 
kin, she supported the little head with her hand. The 
scales showed a loss of one pound and one-half, and the 
mother was nearly sick over it. As the baby seemed 
so much fatter, she was told to weigh ivdhj again, this 
time without supporting the head. The scales showed 
that baby had gained one pound and one-half, instead 
of losing it. 

If baby is being weighed regularly and does not gain 
or begins to lose, a mother will be warned and take 
proper steps at once to rectify the trouble before any- 
thing serious developes. If baby is digesting his food 
properly, he may need one of the following things, and 
probably all of them : 

A larger amount per feeding. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 85 

More frequent feedings; a baby should be fed every 
two hours until six months old, or older. 

Stronger food; and very often more sugar. 

It requires a certain strength of milk or food to 
take a baby beyond a certain weight. One pint of 
milk diluted and modified cannot put flesh on a fifteen- 
pound baby. The milk part must be increased grad- 
ually, so as not to upset the stomach by giving too 
large an amount of protein to digest suddenly. The 
stomach should be brought up to it gradually so that 
it can all be handled. One quart of milk or more 
(diluted, of course), are required every twenty-four 
hours to cause a fifteen-pound baby to gain. 

A baby weighing seven and one-half pounds, normal 
and healthy, will weigh twice as much, or fifteen 
pounds, by the fifth month ; and at least three times as 
much, or from 22 to 25 pounds, at one year. 

Weight varies greatly, even among healthy babies 
of the same age. In some cases growth in weight is 
gradual and regular ; while in others it will take place 
by leaps, intermittently. If a child is weighed before 
or after a feeding, or before or after a bowel movement, 
there will be a few ounces difference in the child's 
weight. 



C H A P T E K 24 

baby's exercise 

It is just as important for an infant to have exer- 
cise as it is for older children. The very young infant 
gets its exercise when it is turned over from one side 
to another. A healthy baby is in almost constant mo- 
tion when awake, moving arms and legs and twisting 
his small body about. It should be remembered that 
muscular action is essential to muscular development; 
and that the masticulatory movements (cooing and 
working the jaws), are but a part of the general gym- 
nastic exercise in Avhich the child indulges. An infant 
cannot walk, neither can it masticate food ; yet it will 
exercise both the muscles of locomotion and mastica- 



86 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

tion, developing and educating them for their respect- 
ive functions when at a later period these shall become 
necessary 

No infant should be permitted to wear long dresses 
and skirts to weigh down its limbs. The weight of the 
long clothing confines its limbs and it is hindered from 
using them freely. Also, long clothes become damp 
and disagreeable. 

Some mothers are afraid to handle or nurse their 
babies lest they spoil them. They may even refuse to 
take up baby to dry it, instead putting on the dry nap- 
kin without removing it from its bed. Babies often 
become cross and do not thrive because they become 
so tired and the necessary exercise is not taken. 

It is a well-known fact that children raised in hos- 
pitals and infant asylums show the neglect of love and 
care. Any mother who wishes her infant to thrive 
must take the little one up in her arms occasionally, 
and hold it, but not too long, as that would tire it. The 
upright position over the mother's shoulder is an ex- 
cellent and restful one, with the baby's back supported 
by the hand. The little body and tender bones grow 
tired of lying down so much, and a change of position 
or change of beds is very restful. 

A baby should be turned over from one side to the 
other every two hours during the day and at least 
twice during the night. Even adults become tired of 
lying on one side for any length of time; and baby's 
bones are soft. If an infant lies more on the right 
side than on the left, the head will grow crooked. 
Neither should a baby lie on its back too much; not 
only is it liable to choke if any of its food comes up, 
but also the back of its head will be flat. 

When baby is four months old, it should sit up in 
a high chair with a small pillow at its back and a soft 
pad beneath. It should not be permitted to sit too 
long at one time just because it is good, for too long 
intervals may tire the little back too much. 

Never place a baby in a chair with the little legs 
dangling down and nothing to rest them on. Attach 
some tape, cloth or leather to a board and then fasten 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 



87 



it at the proper height to the high chair so that baby 
can place its feet thereon. The reason is obvious : The 
weight of the child's legs hanging doAvn retards circu- 
lation; and is very injurious to such an extent that 
children have lost the use of their limbs. 

The floor is the coldest part of a room and always 
has draughts. Baby should never be allowed to sit or 
tumble on the floor, even when a quilt is placed for him 
to sit on. Many a baby has taken pneumonia and died 
because they received heavy colds Avhile sitting on the 
floor. 

A play-box can be made for baby at little expense, 
and will help to keep baby away from draughts, while 
at the same time it can be moved from one room to 
another, or when weather permits taken outside on the 
porch or in the yard. The slat sides permit baby to 
draw itself on its feet and learn to walk around the 
sides. A thick comfort may be laid in the box for baby 
to sit on. The slats around the sides should be covered 
with cloth so that no splinters can stick in baby's 
fingers. The box is made with a bottom of medium 
weight lumber; and is placed on castors, permitting 
easy moving while lifting the box at the same time 
from the floor. If a soft mattress or pillows are 
placed in the box, bab}- may take its nap in it. During 
the summer a large piece of netting can be thrown 
over it to keep flies and other insects from bothering 
baby when it is asleep. 

A box Mty inches long by twenty-eight inches wide 
and twenty inches high makes a convenient size. 




88 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

When baby is six and one-half months old, it should 
be placed in a walker for various reasons. Many 
babies, unless encouraged very much, are slow about 
walking, the little bones are weak and tire easily. The 
muscles for standing and locomotion need to be exer- 
cised in order to develop. 

Some say, ^'Oh, let Nature attend to that ; when baby 
is strong enough he will walk," which is true enough 
in some cases. Baby B. was two years and one month. 
She could stand niceh^ to a chair for a short time and 
take steps ; but she could not walk alone. The muscles 
of her limbs were soft and flabby. Friends all said 
she would walk when she was strong enough. The 
writer was consulted, as baby's health was poor. One 
of the first things advised was a Phoenix walking chair. 
In less than two weeks Baby B. Avas running about 
alone, the walker was dispensed with, the soft, flabby 
muscles were firm and the general health had vastly 
improved. 




A baby walker amuses baby, because it will go Avhen 
the child wants it to. It encourages exercise, besides 
teaching it to walk. A walker keeps baby out of the 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 89 

dirt, and pins and buttons cannot be obtained so easily. 
Many babies have been cured of spinal trouble, infan- 
tile paralysis, by walkers, while those same things have 
been prevented by use of walkers. A Phoenix walking 
chair is recommended because it is the essence of com- 
fort, having a cloth seat, comfortable sides and back; 
and a large, roomy play table in front. A baby will 
be good in it for hours, affording the mother rest and 
relief. These walkers may be obtained from the 
Phcenix Walking Chair, 5225 Seventeenth Avenue 
X. E., Seattle, Wash. 



CHAPTER 25 



CARE OF BABY S EYES 



As soon as the baby is born, its eyes should be 
cleansed with a boric acid solution. When the infant 
is given its first bath, place a drop of two per cent. 
solution of nitrate of silver in each eye. This will 
prevent blindness, if there should be any cause. One 
application is sufficient, and should not be repeated 
unless otherwise ordered by the physician in charge. 
For the first week the eyes should be cleansed with 
the boric acid solution. The eyes must be protected 
from strong light, whether artificial or natural, as it 
Avill cause baby to have sore eyes. Many children's 
eyes are weak simply because the sensitive nerves were 
ruined in infancy. 

Baby should not be permitted to look up at the blue 
sky, as it is very trying as well as injurious to the 
sensitive nerves. If adults would try it for a few 
moments, they would realize quickly the effect it must 
have on the more delicate nerves of a child. 

Too much emphasis cannot be placed on protecting 
baby's face when it is taken out, by parasol, buggy-top, 



93 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 



or bonnet. Many mothers fail to realize the import- 
ance of the care of baby's eves, and the injnrious effects 
of a too bright light shining into the little one's face. 
Mothers will wheel their babies along a street facing 
the sun without anything but a small hood on the back 
of baby's head, and baby squinting its poor little eyes. 




The mother of Baby S. was young. No one had told 
her that the sun shining into her baby's eyes would 
cause any damage. She thought sunlight was good 
for the baby, so baby had her sun bath each morning. 
The poor little eyes grew blind and for weeks and 
weeks no hope was held out to the despairing mother 
that her baby would eyer see again. The eje specialist 
who was treating the eyes at last said: ''The eyes are 
growing better, but this little girl can neyer go to 
school." When Baby S. was one year old she could 
see a little through specially prepared glasses. 

Blindless is often caused by looking at the sun ; and 
often by inherited syphilis. 

Cold often settles in baby's eyes. Pond's Extract 
is excellent for sore eyes. Boric acid solution when 
the trouble is caused by a cold is beneficial. When 
soreness persists, an eje specialist should be consulted. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 91 



C H A P T E K 26 

ADENOIDS THE PACIFIER 

Very youug children frequeutly are troubled with 
adenoids, brought on by continually sucking a 'Taci- 
fier." There may be, of course, different causes. In 
older children a repeated cold in the head and con- 
tinual snuffing will cause adenoids. Mothers should 
give their babies enough to eat, and then the child will 
not want a pacifier. A cold in the head should not be 
neglected. These two things, especially the pacifier, 
most frequently bring on adenoids or nasal obstruc- 
tion. 

Adenoids are tumerous-like growths of the tissues 
and glands, that develop high up in the throat and at 
the back. The symptoms are mouth breathing, an 
habitual open mouth, chronic cold in the head, and 
coughing. Xature intended that breathing should be 
done through the nostrils, and therefore mouth breath- 
ing brings evil results. 

The results of nasal obstructions may be felt in 
almost every organ of the body. So important is the 
proper discharge of the nasal function (nose breath- 
ing), not only to the organ involved, but also to the 
general welfare of the child that bad health and 
stunted growth of children suffering from nasal ob- 
struction are matters of every day occurrence, but un- 
fortunately too frequently overlooked. This is espec- 
ially true in early childhood, when growth and develop- 
ment are going on with rapidity and Avhen the demand 
for healthy respiration is more important than ever. 

The immediate effect of the removal of a nasal ob- 
struction, especially in children, is often marvelous. A 
child that has been stunted because of it, will, with 
almost magic rapidity, reach the full measure of its 
normal growth. Xasal obstruction sometimes affects 
the hearing. In advanced cases, the face of the patient 
is characteristic of the trouble. It is lacking in vigor 
and the intellect is impaired; it has a dull, listless look. 
Local treatment is absolutely of no avail. The only 



92 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

remedy is removal, which, of course, is done by some 
good physician. The operation is neither severe nor 
dangerous. 




CHAPTER 27 

THE CAT AND THE BABY 

A cat should never be allowed where there is a baby. 
While many cats appear to be trustAvorthy and harm- 
less, there is a natural disposition, masked when 
around adults, but manifested when alone with the 
helpless baby, which is dangerous. Cats are more or 
less deceitful and treacherous, especially when they 
smell a trace of blood, as they might easily should 
baby scratch itself with its finger-nails or with a pin. 
In nine cases out of ten, a cat will bite the injured 
spot if it can. 

Baby is far dearer and nearer than a cat, and it is 
best to be on the safe side for baby's sake. Many a 
baby has lost its life because of a cat. Felines like to 
curl themselves close to the face of an infant and have 
smothered babies to death; or have been known to su<?k 
a child's breath from its body by putting the nose 
close to the baby's face. 

Cats will eat mice, which are often affected. They 
are not only instrumental in carrj^ng parasites of germ 
diseases, tuberculosis, measles, etc., but also are sub- 
ject to diseases themselves, frequently having tuber- 
culosis. In addition to this, cats give children ring- 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 93 

worms wliicli have been known almost to cover a child's 
bodv when they are not attended to properly and cause 
the child's hair to come out, together with other dis- 
tressing symptoms. 

CHAPTER 28 

BATHING AND THE SCALP 

If many mothers were asked why they bathed their 
babies daily, they would say they did so because baby's 
skin w^ould became sore and scaly. There are reasons^ 
for baby's bath which ordinary mothers do not con- 
sider. The chief reason why baby requires a soap and 
water bath daily, especially in the early days of infancy 
more than at any other time, is that reproduction 
(building up and renewing), and decay both take place 
very rapidly in a young child. As a result the pores 
of the skin must be kept open by means of soap and 
water so the impurities may be thrown off the body. 
The skin of a young child, like every other part of the 
little body, changes with great rapidity, hence the need 
of frequent bathing as well as feeding. 

Castile soap is the only soap which should be used 
with a baby. Let baby be lathered freely. It is best 
to give the child a sponge bath, with the infant lying'^ 
on the nurse's or mother's lap. Rinse off the soap and 
dry gently with a soft towel. It is not Avise to give an 
Infant a bath in a bowl or small tub. A careless per- 
son will often have the water either too hot or too cold. 
An infant's flesh is very tender and if the Avater is too 
warm it will burn or be uncomfortable to the tender 
flesh ; or if it is too cold will chill baby and bad results 
will follow. Never clog up the pores of the skin with 
talcum powder. As the skin absorbs the life-giving-^ 
oxygen from the air and gives ofl: the impurities and 
carbonic acid of the body, this should be remembered. 

OIL BATHS 

It is a well-known fact that if oil baths are given to 
children and infants properly, they will increase the 
child's weight to a remarkable degree. 



94 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

An animal fat should be used and seems to be best 
absorbed by the skin. Hog fat and crude codliver oil 
are preferable, xl vegetable fat or oil, as cocoa butter 
or olive oil, is foreign and should not be used. Patience 
and thoroughness are necessary in order to get satis- 
factory results. When the body is wasted, the skin dry 
and inactive, or the child is feverish or below normal 
(cold), massaging the hodj with oil after a bath gives 
excellent results. Circulation is rendered vigorous and 
equalized; activity of the skin is promoted, bringing 
the blood to the surface. In cases where oil baths are 
necessary, best results are obtained by first bathing 
the child with warm water and soap, wipe dry, and 
immediately apply the warm lard or oil, rubbing 
quickly and lightly. A child must not be left in a 
greased condition. Oil clogs up the pores of the skin, 
and frequently causes a breaking out on the skin. Oil 
is undoubtedly irritating and very disagreeable to the 
sensitive skin of a baby, especially where flannel or 
Avool is worn. After massaging with oil, bathe the 
body to remove the oil from the surface so there will 
be no irritation or disagreeableness or clogging of the 
pores of the skin. 

CARE OF THE SCALP 

Baby's head should be washed thoroughly every 
morning w^ith plenty of soap and water, then thor- 
ougly dried. The child's head should be washed every 
morning up to eight months or one year; then every 
second or third morning, but as often at least as once 
a week up to the second year. After the second year, 
wash only when dirty, as too frequent washings cause 
the oil sac at the roots of the hair to dry up, the hair 
to die, or become lifeless and dead. 

There will appear on the infant's head a heavy, 
scaly-looking substance resembling dandruff, and com- 
monly called the ''cradle cap." Good care of the scalp 
does not prevent its forming. The baby's body gener- 
ally peels off after birth, and so does the scalp, only 
the dead skin is much heavier. 

Some mothers will neglect to remove tliis unsightly 
substance, saying they are afraid to disturb it. Noth- 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 95 

ing but harm results from its remaining on the baby's 
head, as it paves the way for serious scalp disease. 
Also, there is nothing that looks worse than this scaly 
substance on the child's scalp. No attempt should be 
made to remove it until the baby is two months of age, 
as it forms gradually and if it is not disturbed except 
by washing the head, it will not form the second time, 
whereas, if it is removed too soon, it will form again. 

Take pure hog's lard and rub on baby's scalp, using 
plenty. Nothing softens the hard substance like hog's 
lard. Vaseline has very little effect on it. In about 
three hours, after greasing, take a black sharp-toothed 
fine comb and gently comb it off, using a comb which 
has not been employed before. Comb from the front 
part of the head toward the back. The scales are re- 
moved much easier if it is combed in this direction, as 
they overlap one another like scales on a fish. If all 
the substance is not removed at first combing, re-grease 
the head and in an hour or so remove the balance. 

Wash the head well with soap and water, and apply 
a little cold cream or white vaseline to the scalp. If 
the child's head is well washed and dried daily the 
substance seldom will make a second appearance, but 
if it does, it should likewise be removed. 



CHAPTER 29 

FLANNEL A PAD 

Flannel bands or shirts should never, never be used 
for baby, no matter how soft to begin Avith. Many 
adults cannot endure flannel next to their own skin, 
yet will put it on their child; and at that, the skin 
of an adult is much thicker and less sensitive than that 
of an infant. Babies have been known to fret and 
worry simply because they were compelled to wear a 
flannel shirt or band. The infant's skin is very thin 
and the tender nerves just beneath the thin, delicate 
skin make flannel very annoying for it. 

Flannel is a fad, not a necessity, only a cruel prac- 
tice. Soon the flannels shrink and become more or less 



96 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

hard. Babies frequently have a breaking out, caused 
solely by this material. 

Cotton or silk is much to be preferred. Silk espec- 
ially is very warm and soothing to the tender skin, 
and is fast taking the place of flannel with adults and 
infants. When woolen stockings are put on the baby, 
use thin, cotton ones beneath. This will prevent them 
from annoying the child. 




C H A P T E K 30 

LETTING BABY CRY IT OUT 

One of the greatest medical authorities in the world 
has written : "There are many parents who have the 
greatest love for their children and who are ambitious 
for them to grow up into useful men and women, who 
permit their babies to fret, cry and worry, never think- 
ing that this fretting and worrying is the beginning of 
a cross, ill-tempered and disagreeable man or woman," 
The same authority calls attention to the owner of a 
fine colt, how careful he is not to let it have cause to 
worry and fret, knowing that if it does it will grow up 
vicious and without value. 

Many mothers have found this true. Adults easily 
fall into the habit of scolding, worrying and fault- 
finding. Habits in children are easily formed, their 
sensitive dispositions are easily spoiled. A child can 
be taken and made into what vou will. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 97 

Young mothers are told first of all, "Now, do not 
spoil your babj'," and are advised as to their care. 
They must not be rocked or handled, played with, 
talked to, or loved. When they are bathed, fed and 
their soiled napkins removed, they must be laid down, 
and the mother must not go near or take baby up it' 
it cries. It must not be fed at night; when it wakes 
it must be given a sup of water, turned over and al- 
lowed to cry itself to sleep. Thus, when baby finds no 
one bothers when it cries, it will learn to be good. The 
helpless infants have no protection save our love; they 
are abused and cannot complain; the little cry often 
expresses much. 

No sane mother, especially if she has her infant's 
welfare at heart, should heed such advice. The one 
who gives it is heartless. God gave these darling babies 
to be loved, coddled; and they can be talked to, and 
played with without spoiling them, unless it is carried 
to an extreme. Babyhood does not last forever and 
often the dear baby is soon taken away. 

To neglect or abuse a helpless, innocent baby is a 
sin. Hard crying upsets a baby or adult's stomach. 
Baby should not be allowed to cry hard just before 
feeding, as it causes spasmodic contractions and the 
swallowing of the milk can be plainly heard. This 
distresses the baby. 

If infants are permitted to cry much there is danger 
of a rupture of the navel. The walls of the abdomen 
are thin, and rupture is a common occurrence, which 
could often be avoided by use of the old fashioned 
cradle. 

R. A. F. Penrose, M. D., LL. D., Philadelphia, Pa., 
Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics and Diseases of 
Women and Children in the University of Pennsylvania, 
says : "I advise a cradle. It is the fashion of our gen- 
eration, it was not of our fathers and grandfathers, to 
prescribe cradles. It is held that the rocking move- 
ment of the cradle is injurious to the child — how in- 
jurious does not seem to be definitely determined.'' 

This theory I am convinced, through long observa- 
tion and large experience, is absolutely Avithout founda- 



98 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

tion. Nay, more, I hold that the results of the soothing 
rocking movements of the cradle are positively bene- 
ficial. I consider a nursery lacking a cradle as desti- 
tute of an article not onh^ of great present comfort 
to the child, and very great relief to its ,care-takers, but 
also of no little importance to the future welfare of the 
infant. The dreadful increase in affections of the ner- 
vous system which the present generation experiences 
is undoubtedly due to many and complex causes; and 
I here throw out the suggestion, would not the soothing 
influences of a cradle on the nervous system of infancy 
have rendered that system less irritable, and, conse- 
quently, less disposed to be injuriously affected hj the 
innumerable causes of nervous diseases incident to the 
whirl of modern life? 

Crying and fretting positively upsets the whole di- 
gestive tract as well as the nervous system, often prov- 
ing to be an hindrance to the child's advancement. 



CHAPTER 31 

COLIC 

Causes of Colic: A bad cold; food difficult to digest; 
irritation of the stomach, with sore mouth as symptom ; 
cold hands and feet; too long intervals between feeding 
either by breast or bottle. Irritation in the intestines, 
sore buttocks as symptoms. 

The empty stomach and bowels of an infant nat- 
urally fill with gas or wind. When food is taken the 
gas had to give place, and if it is not belched or the 
stomach be strong enough to pass it into the intestines, 
it will cause pain. If baby is constipated and the gas 
does not pass readily through the intestines, there is 
a likelihood of its causing pain in the intestines. Indi- 
gestion causes colic whether the trouble is wholly con- 
fined in the stomach or extends into the intestines, 
where there is an irritated condition in stomach or in- 
testines, there forms more mucus than natural, hence, 
more gas. There is usually colic whenever the baby 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 99 

feeds until the irritation is healed. Irritation is caused 
by indigestion, milk that is too old or too acid a food. 

Animals, adults and children, all alike have a cer- 
tain amount of gas or wind in both stomach and in- 
testines. This is perfectly natural. A baby does not 
,get gas in the stomach by sucking an empty bottle, 
but rather during indigestion, just as in all living 
beings. There is a normal amount of gas and again 
there is an abnormal amount. In either case unless 
it is passed out it will cause some pain. The gases 
which are formed by the processes of digestion or fer- 
mentation in the stomach and intestines are carbonic 
acid gas, hydrogen and marsh gas. Under pathological 
conditions they may be formed in considerable quan- 
tities and cause dilation of the stomach. Even after 
death takes place gases form in large quantities. 
Every one has seen how a dead animal left exposed will 
swell to a large size. 

If the baby cries and no exact reason can be given 
for the crying, it is generally called colic. Often baby 
is sleepy and wants either the breast or bottle to go 
to sleep on. All young want to eat or nurse while 
going to sleep. Often a baby is hungry and the milk 
gives out before he is finished. He feels he has not 
had enough and will naturally cry for more. The 
mother believes he is either overfed or has colic, when 
maybe baby is only asking for more to eat. Often a 
baby will cry while there is plenty of milk in his bottle, 
but it is too cold to suit his taste; or the hole in the 
nipple may be too small, or is stopped up ; or even his 
mouth may be sore. Sometimes baby will cry because 
his hands or feet are cold, or he may have the earache. 
If he is at the breast there may be a scant supply of 
nourishment. There are, of course, cases of colic, but 
as mothers so often call everything colic, they should 
first investigate and assure themselves that it is colic. 

When the wind is in the stomach, the upright posi- 
tion is the only one that brings relief. If the wind is 
in the intestines, an enema affords equally quick relief. 
Mothers must remember that it is perfectly natural 
for all babies to have a certain amount of gas or wind 



100 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

iu their stomach and intestines ; and that the amount 
increases according as babv goes without feeding for 
longer periods of time. 

Some infants who are troubled with indigestion have 
an abnormal amount of wind. When food is taken into 
the stomach and the wind does not pass readily, it 
causes severe pain. The child will draw up its knees 
and cry with a loud, sharp cry. Sometimes a cold 
settling in its abdomen will cause it to have colic. A 
baby should not be fed during a severe attack of colic. 
Instead of the regular feeding, give about three or four 
ounces of warm, slightly salt}^ water, then lift baby 
in an upright position across the mother's shoulder, 
and get baby to belch by patting its back gently. After 
baby belches a few times, feed as usual and again raise 
bab}' to an upright position. 

To relieve a severe attack it may be necessary to 
give an injection of lukewarm water. Place a hot 
water bottle to baby's feet, and see that the hands are 
warm. A towel dipped in very hot boiling water, 
wrung out rapidly, folded to proper size and applied 
to the abdomen as hot as can be borne, with a dry 
flannel over the hot towel, will act as magic in infantile 
colic. Be sure the cloth is not applied too hot so as 
to burn the baby. Test warmth by laying towel on 
tender part of nurse's arm. 

If colic is habitual with baby, before each feeding 
give about two ounces of warm salt water, try the 
shoulder position and patting to see if gas wiJl be 
belched. Immediately after feeding the usual food, 
the shoulder position may again be tried. A colicky 
baby's feet should be kept warm and dry. 



C H A P T E R 32 

NIGHT FEEDING 

If baby is fed often enough during the day and with 
plenty to satisfy, it will not require so much feeding 
at night; and will not be as restless as it would if al- 
loAved to take long naps and no food. If baby sleeps 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 101 

over the regular feeding time the food may be warmed 
and the nipple placed in baby's mouth. The child 
often will take its nourishment without waking. 

See that baby has had a good bowel movement dur- 
ing the day or before bedtime. Put it to bed warm 
and dry, with a fresh, dry band, and rub the little back 
gently. Do not permit it to sleep in the dress or under- 
skirt that was worn during the day, and do not let it 
sleep in its stockings, as bad odor and diseases of the 
feet have been traced to the habit of sleeping in stock- 
ings. If the weather is cool, wrap the feet in a warm, 
cotton blanket and place a hot water bottle in the bed, 
not close enough to the feet or body to burn baby or 
make it uncomfortable. 

Do not cover baby's face or fold the covers back from 
the face lest they may in some w^ay get over it and 
smother baby to death. Have the covers just long 
enough to come well up under the little chin and no 
further. Give it a nice, warm bottle of food and it 
generally will go to sleep without any other trouble. 
Turn baby over and feed whenever it awakes at night, 
giving it enough each time to satisfy its appetite. The 
appetite of the young is guided by a very safe instinct. 
There are thousands of starved and tortured infants — 
one might say there are none that are overfed — as a 
child will not eat more than it wants. 

"Heathen races have frequently sanctioned infanti- 
cide. Christian nations torture their children slowly 
to death." — Bange. 

A young baby will often require feeding about three 
times during the night for the first six or eight weeks, 
then twice during the night up to six months; then 
once during the night up to nine or ten months or 
longer. Never use a Thermos bottle or other device 
to keep baby's milk warm for the night feeding or when 
out shopping, as milk when kept at a blood heat will 
sour, whether in winter or summer, and sour milk or 
tainted milk may cost you your baby's life or a severe 
sickness. 

Babies that are underfed or fed on a weak food that 
is quickly digested will naturally require more frequent 



102 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

feeding and larger amounts than a well-nourished 
child. Feeding at night does not get baby into the 
habit of night-feeding, for as soon as the body is built 
up to the proper proportions, nature will cease to make 
the demand so often at night, providing baby is fed 
regularly during the day. 

Why should not a baby eat at night as well as at any 
other time? Mothers are often advised to omit night 
feeding. Yet, what is the difference between night and 
day feeding? The babj^'s stomach does not know any 
difference, it is just as capable and anxious to digest 
the food at night as it was during the day ; only there 
is extra trouble for the parents. People do not like 
to get out of a nice bed to feed baby. 

Baby, however, does not care. It is hungry and that 
is all that matters to it. Feed it and it will go to sleep. 
Remember that nature builds up during sleep and tears 
down during activity ; and no baby can build up oii an 
empty stomach. 

When baby's stomach craves more building material, 
it will naturally demand it, for it has to groAv every 
day and gain every week in order to be healthy and as 
nature intended; and the only way baby can get the 
necessary food is through eating. It cannot eat unless 
it can induce some one to feed it. It takes a certain 
amount during the twenty-four hours to build up 
properly. The stomach is small, its functions active, 
hence frequent feeding. 

The following has been taken from an article written 
by a physician : "It is not necessary to awaken a baby 
at night to feed it, but up to six months of age and 
often after that, unless the baby is unusually strong, 
night feeding should not be denied.'' Many persons 
Avill permit a baby to cry for a long time in the hope 
that they will be able to teach it not to cry at night; 
and will not take it from its bed for fear of spoiling it. 
This practice cannot be condemned too severely, inas- 
much as babies under one year cannot express their 
feelings except by crying. It is wise to go to a baby 
at once, since its crying may be due to colic, etc. Par- 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 103 

ents run a great risk in not tending to their babies 
immediately. 

There are numerous cases where parents have failed 
to heed the cries of their baby, and after silence has 
been obtained, gone back to sleep feeling secure in their 
wisdom, but AA'ho uj)on awakening in the morning, have 
found it necessary to send for an undertaker. The 
child in its struggle had either disengaged itself so that 
the bedclothes smothered it to death, or perhaps it had 
swallowed something, or the cries may have been due 
to convulsions. 

There are cases where cats have gotten on a baby's^ 
face at night, smothering it, and several instances 
where rats have gnawed the baby's face or hands. Pins 
sometimes become unfastened and stick the baby. A 
baby will not cry without a cause, but demands that it 
be made comfortable. 



CHAPTER 33 

SORE BUTTOCKS 

Years ago mothers believed that sore buttocks were 
caused by strong soap used in washing the baby's nap- 
kins. This was simply a theory; the trouble really 
comes from some intestinal disorder, acid stools, etc. 
Usually the intestines are in an irritated condition. 

Too rich food — irritating foods — orange juice, and 
sour or old milk will cause this soreness. If there is 
reason to suspect the food of being too rich, it may be 
diluted a little and given with a large dose of castor 
oil one hour before or after feeding. Babies at certain 
ages should receive a given strength of milk; if it is 
too rich and there is too much top milk, there will be 
frequent passages and consequently sore buttocks. 

Mothers should always be sure to bathe the inflamed 
parts with warm water and castile soap, using a piece 
of absorbent cotton, pat dry. Castile soap is healing, 
and babies which are bathed without soap will become 
sore. Applications of melted cocoa butter are excel- 



104 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

lent, forming a protection over tlie intiamed parts. 
The buttocks will heal as soon as the intestines heal. 

Bismuth subnitrate — one-fourth of a teaspoonful in 
each feeding, will heal the intestines. First a large 
dose of castor oil should be given, then in each feeding 
thereafter the bismuth should be added, until healing 
takes place. (See "How to Give Bismuth.'- ) 

Soreness of the buttocks is frequent immediately 
after a dose of oil, as the oil has removed the poison 
from the intestines, and when it came in contact with 
the outer skin has produced an irritation. Let the but- 
tocks be greased with cocoa butter when castor oil is 
given. (See "Castor Oil.") 

Vaseline is drawing and should not be used to grease 
the buttocks or inflamed parts. Cocoa butter is sooth- 
ing and healing. 



C H A P T E R 34 

baby's STOOL IX HEALTH AND DISEASE 

All adults and children have a natural secretion of 
clear mucus from the mucous membrane lining the 
whole alimentary canal. In health there is a normal 
secretion, while indigestible foods or anything irri- 
tating will cause an excessive secretion, which is ab- 
normal. This secretion is more abundant in children 
than in adults because there is more activity in the 
whole body than there is in that of an older person. 
The secretion lessens as activity lessens. 

The stools of a young child even in health have small 
amounts of mucus. A cold or colic will cause the 
passage of the so-called "slimy-' stool. In cases where 
the irritation is constantly renewed, as in children who 
are habitually fed upon indigestible food, large quan- 
tities of mucus are passed, often coating the small 
masses or appearing separately as strings and jelly- 
like lumps. When mucus is passed in the stool it is 
a sign that the intestines are pretty well lined with it. 

Mucus will cause gas, colic, and often vomiting and 
will prevent the proper digestion of food. The heavy 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 105 

coating of mucus prevents the digestive juices from 
being properly secreted or from coming in contact with 
the food. In first stages it will be clear, then yellowish, 
brownish, or green in color. 

As the intestines are the weakest part of anybody, 
certain diseases are apt to leave behind a weakened 
condition of the bowels. Measles and scarlatina may 
sometimes be followed by mucus. Whooping cough is, 
however, of all diseases the one to which this derange- 
ment can most commonly be traced. There is a special 
reason why this is true. The bronchial mucous mem- 
brane secretes (because of irritation), a tough, stringy 
mucus in large quantities, and during this time the 
stomach and intestines will secrete large amounts of 
mucus. Coughing upsets the stomach and makes the 
intestines and abdomen sore. A child's stools are an 
indicator of a child's health and powers of digestion. 

During dentition, when the alimentary canal is in 
an active state, there is more mucus than ordinarily, 
and more likelihood of upsetting the stomach and 
boAvels with resultant vomiting and diarrh(pa. At this 
time the bowels are ripe for diarrhoea. 

In colds, bronchitis, and especially pneumonia, the 
stools will be full of raw-smelling mucus. 

Offensive, acid, pale green movements indicate a dis- 
ordered stomach. Dark-green movements indicate acid 
secretions and more serious stomach and bowel dis- 
order. Fetid dark-brown stools are present in chronic 
diarrhoea. Putty-like pasty passages (drab) are due 
to torpid liver. 

An infant should have two or three movements daily 
during the first week of its life, two movements daily 
until one month ; and after that, at least one movement 
a day. When a baby is properly digesting its food the 
movement will be yelloAv, varying from deep to light, 
from smooth to rough looking. Instead of being scant 
and thin, it should show that there was an abundance 
of substance. 

After the stool has been exposed to air a few hours, 
in young infants it will take on a greenish tint, espec- 
ially if the baby is colicky or has a cold in the abdo- 



106 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

men. If the stool is yellow when passed, whether 
smooth or rough, the greenish tint does not matter. 
The natural odor of the stool will be either slightly 
sour or warm; as the child grows older it will become 
stronger. 

All mothers should watch their baby's stool. Undi- 
gested food is a danger signal, and one that is too often 
ignored until after serious complications have set in. 
It always means something, and the trouble ahvays 
grows worse instead of better unless something is done 
to right the trouble. Baby may be deprived of much- 
needed nourishment, for if the food is undigested it 
will show that nourishment was not obtained, and 
unless remedied the little body will begin to fail and 
baby's strength begin to lessen. 

When baby is not digesting its food properly, the 
movements will be either green, drab, or brownish; 
there will often be white curds, if milk has been fed; 
or if baby is at the breast, there will be small white 
flecks of undigested milk. The stools often will con- 
tain large amounts of mucus. The color of the stool 
will vary if medicine or physic is given. Milk of mag- 
nesia will cause a lighter-colored stool ; castoria a 
brownish, and castor oil, when administered one hour 
after a feeding, will bring a watery, rough, undigested 
stool, but if given one hour before, will bring mucus 
with the stool. 

Beef juice will darken the stool, and as soon as Bis- 
muth Subnitrate takes effect, will bring a drab or black 
stool, which is a good sign. 

It is very common for a child to have a yellow, rough 
looking stool, but if there are no undigested white 
curds, it is all right. If a child is not receiving enough 
nourishment, the stools will be scant and thin, and the 
abdomen will be lank, instead of full and rounded. 
The baby either Avill have a scant, frequent stool, or 
it may be that an enema or physic must be given to 
produce any movement at all. A diet of two or three 
ounces of food every two hours is not enough nourish- 
ment to fill the intestines and produce normal move- 
ments. When a child is born the abdomen is full and 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 107 

rounded; the intestines are filled with mecroninm. 
This indicates that Nature saw fit to fill the intestines 
instead of leaving them empty, lank and full of gas. 
Increase the amount of food at a feeding, and the bowel 
movement will show the benefit. 

A baby naturally will strain when at stool, as a stool 
seldom will pass without some effort. 

When there is irritation of the colon (lower bowel), 
baby may strain and strain without passing a stool. 
Orange juice and some physics will produce this strain- 
ing, and then sometimes the passing of a watery sub- 
stance or mucus. Whenever there is much irritation in 
the colon or intestines, a child will either pass stool or 
strain when taking regular feedings. But if Bismuth 
Subnitrate is given the irritation will heal, then baby 
will not have a bowel movement during each feeding. 



CHAPTER 35 

IGNORANCE 

Much has been said about the ignorance of mothers 
and their peculiar ideas in caring for their babies. A 
physician speaking of one of these mothers once said: 
''She should be ashamed to look the tabby-cat in the 
face." He believed that the cat had better success 
with raising her offspring than did the mother. 

There is another story told of a mother who was 
giving her infant a tub-bath. The water being a bit 
too cold, she placed the pan with baby in it on the stove 
to warm, not knowing that the bottom of the pan nat- 
urally would become hot before the Avater could become 
warm. The result was that the baby was badly burned 
and died. 

Many would cry, "Can such ignorance be possible?" 
Yes, such ignorance is possible; in fact, the ignorance 
of the majority of mothers is simply appalling. While 
there are mothers Avho have good common sense about 
raising children, using wisdom and rare discretion, 
there are many who are more negligent and careless 
than ignorant. 



108 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

Some mothers are overly anxious and every little 
symptom is looked npon as very serious. They keep 
their physicians and friends as Avell as themselves in a 
troubled or worried frame of mind continuall3\ Some 
mothers are just the opposite; everything is expected 
to care for itself. If baby is really sick they will say, 
"Baby has been sick before and I did not do anything 
and Nature took care of baby." It all depends on what 
is causing the trouble, whether Xature Avill right it or 
not. 

The majority of American women have good common- 
school educations, but when they marry and start to 
raise families, they generally forget what they have 
learned about the human body. Some cannot even tell 
what the first steps in digestion are, because those les- 
sons were not impressed on their minds. 

In order to reach success in raising her children, a 
mother should be familiar with the human body, its 
needs and natural functions,, so she Avill be able to 
note the danger signals. Many mothers permit their 
children to bolt down their food without stopping to 
chew it properly; they feed any and all kinds of food, 
regardless of the young, tender digestive organs. 

Some will allow their babies to nurse every thirty 
minutes if they wish, if they are on the breast; or if 
they are on bottles the food is often given cold when 
it is not convenient to warm it; or so hot as to burn 
the baby's mouth and cause grave injury to the digest- 
ive organs. Frequently baby is allowed to go for sev- 
eral hours without food, yet at the same time allowed 
to suck vigorously on a pacifier or empty bottle. 

At times the hole in the nipple will be so small that 
baby will be thirty minutes or more trying to get its 
food. The food will become cold and baby often may 
give up in disgust, while the mother thinks it has had 
enough because it refuses to take the cold food. Then 
the pacifier is given for consolation to be tugged at 
until the next feeding time. Mothers wonder why 
baby is so ''cross." Let every mother who believes in 
prolonged feedings or in letting baby suck an empty 
bottle or pacifier, try sucking one herself for ten or 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BAOY 109 

fifteen iniiuites, and she may realize Avliat makes baby 
so "cross." 

Good common sense is what is needed. A baby is the 
same as any other being. It is not natural for babies 
born of normal parents to die in infancy. They were 
born to live, to be healthy, happy and to die at a ripe, 
old age. 

If baby does not gain each week or month during the 
first months of life, it indicates that something is 
wrong Avhich should be righted. This does not always 
mean a change in food. Maybe the food is either too 
rich, or too weak; perhaps it is not enough to satisfy; 
perhaps not fed often enough. Often with inexper- 
ienced mothers even when the baby is pale and thin, 
albeit in good spirits, this remark will be heard : "Baby 
is not sick at all ; he is lively, good natured, sleeps well, 
and is strong ; of course he is thin as neither his father 
nor I am fat." For that reason baby is allowed to go 
on and on until the foundation for some disease of 
malnutrition is established and serious consequences 
finally result. It is positively natural for all young 
of every species, human, animal, or otherwise, to be fat 
and plump when young, if properly cared for, making- 
no difference how tall and thin the parents are. 

Mrs. W. was a young, inexperienced mother. She 
loved her baby dearly and wished to raise her as scien- 
tifically as possible, and so obtained some strictly up- 
to-date scientific literature on the subject of raising a 
baby. The book gave explicit directions of just how 
to proceed; baby must never be taken up and cuddled 
or loved ; but bathed and attended to as quickly as pos- 
sible. Baby must not be spoken to or taken up when 
it cried. Baby should be fed every two and one-half 
hours at first — and none at night. Feedings should be 
lengthened out as soon as possible. The result was 
that baby soon began to vomit, the feedings were still 
lengthened, but baby grew thinner and thinner. 
Finally the mother's milk was almost all dried up. 
Baby was as good as she could be, never showing any 
particularly hungry signs, and would sleep all night. 
The stomach had become so shrunken and inactive that 



110 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

she naturally did not feel hungry, as she was slowly 
brought to this condition. The mother was finally 
aroused to the child's condition by relatives. 

This mother learned her lesson Avith the first child. 
The succeeding children were raised by the use of good 
common sense, were cuddled and talked to without 
fear of spoiling or causing any nervous traits or over- 
development of the brain ; they were fed at night and 
were given enough to satisfy and grow fat during the 
day. 

Every mother should have enough of the maternal 
instinct to study her own baby and to remember what 
she has learned, and profit by it, avoiding future mis- 
takes. Many mothers forget from one baby to another. 
It is well for every mother to have a book and write 
down all her mistakes and after each one the remedy. 

Every mother should realize that her baby is no 
difl'erent from herself in physical makeup, and that it 
is perfectly natural for baby to have gas or wind in the 
stomach and intestines just like herself. She did not 
get gas by sucking an empty bottle or pacifier, it com- 
ing rather from natural causes. If she should go a 
long time without eating, she naturally would become 
very hungry and have a larger amount of gas than 
otherwise. 

Frequently she will feel sick at the stomach after 
eating, if she has gone longer than usual without food. 
She will eat a little faster if very hungry, and desire 
a larger amount. Then again she will not feel as well 
and of course she will not care to eat as much as usual. 
When she feels well again, she will of course eat more 
heartily. A baby will have all of these symptoms just 
as an adult. 

By a careful study of this book and of their own 
babies, most mothers may readily tell what ails their 
babies, and when to send for a physician. When the 
baby is not well, the mother often thinks that every- 
thing will right itself; while if she had been familiar 
with the symptoms of those many diseases which carry 
off the little ones each year, she could have spared her- 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 111 

self much anxiety, the little one suffering and perhaps 
death. "One ounce of prevention is worth a jDound of 
cure." 

It is the practice of manv mothers to feed small 
amounts regularly, and if baby is not satisfied and 
cries for more, to put warm water in the bottle and let 
it suck that, not knowing of the injurious results from 
constant sucking. Even if baby only takes an occa- 
sional swallow of water his stomach is constantly 
stimulated, bringing on indigestion ; even chronic 
diarrho?a has been brought about by the habit of taking 
water between meals and by the stimulation caused by 
sucking. 

Young babies do not reqtiire water until five or six 
months of age. unless the weather is warm: then an 
occasional drink is good, but not a constant supply. 
Up to six months their food or breast milk is such a 
large per cent water that they do not care for much 
else, because the body only requires a certain amount 
in twenty-four hours, and if this water is supplied in 
the baby's food, extra water is not required. Very few 
babies will like water before that time, unless they are 
on a scant diet : then of course the child will take water 
or other liquid eagerly. 

After baby is five or six months of age and the 
amount of water in the food is decreased, babies will 
naturally like water and should be given water a num- 
ber of times a day, especially during warm weather. 
unless there is a bad case of diarrhoea ; then just sips 
of water to wet the mouth or cool the gums should be 
allowed. As baby gets older, water should be offered 
more often, as it is required by the human body and 
plays an important part in our health and well-being. 
(See "Use of Water.") A child should be allowed 
water or milk to drink during meals, because Xature 
requires the liquid to aid digestion and to build up the 
body. Thirst comes naturally like hunger, when the 
body requires it. 



112 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 




CHAPTER 3(3 



THE CRITICAL AGE OF INFANCY 

There are three periods iu a child's life that are criti- 
cal : In the early weeks of life, when experiments are 
being made to determine what food will be best to 
start with; second, when in addition to the irritation 
arising from the beginning of dentition new articles of 
diet are added to the original food ; third, at the time 
of weaning, when there is often a sudden change in the 
character of the food. 

The proper management of the first of these periods 
is of the greatest importance because it is the time 
when as before stated, the stomach is in its most active 
period of growth; and when the function of digestion 
is being established; and when, following the rule of 
functional establishment, it is in a state of unstable 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 113 

equilibrnni. A normal child that is receiving the 
proper food and amount, snited to its digestive powers, 
will generally gain one pound a week for the first five 
or six weeks of its life, then the gain is slower. 

The most vital question before men and women to- 
day is the prevention of infant mortality. Six hundred 
thousand babies died in the past year; and today thou- 
sands of mothers are weeping over their little ones, 
who are dying while they look on helplessly, unable 
to save. Those who have made a study of the causes 
of infant mortality state that the majority of these 
deaths are preventable. Investigation and experiment 
have proven conclusively that the real reason is ignor- 
ance ; and that the average mother does not know how 
to care j^roperly for her own baby. If any part of the 
body is out of order the whole body suffers also. 

The proper care of a child demands a clear knoAvl- 
edge of what to do and Avhat not to do under all cir- 
cumstances ; and many a promising young life has been 
ruined because the mother did not know what should 
be done at the right time. Every mother knows that 
good health is the richest heritage she can give her 
child. God has given no greater gift to woman than 
a baby, and no natural mother will neglect the slightest 
detail of her little one's comfort. Yet nearly half a 
million babies are swept away every year in the United 
States alone by infant diseases, many of which arise 
solely through some fault of the mother. 

Especially is this true of mothers who are compelled 
to give their babies artificial food. Most of the infant 
deaths have their origin in the digestive organs, eighty- 
five out of every hundred that die having been fed arti- 
ficially. It is an undeniable fact that improper feeding 
is responsible for this appalling death-rate, a rate so 
great that the period below three years of age has been 
called "The Critical Age of Infancy.'' 

Every infant death may be explained by one of the 
following reasons : 

1. Food that the baby cannot digest or assimilate, 
whether cow's milk, mother's milk or anv other food — 



114 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

the cause of diseases of malnutrition and death by 
starvation. 

2. Food assimilated and digested but insufficient in 
quantity; every infant must have a certain amount of 
daily food, and if for any reason this quantity is not 
taken it is too much to expect the body to thrive, and 
it accordingly dies from lack of nourishment. 

3. Too old milk, sour or tainted milk, or milk that 
contains too much lactic acid. These cause irritation, 
diarrhoea, and cholera infantum. 

4. Adult food fed too soon — an overtax and strain 
on the delicate digestive organs during the teething 
period. 

The question of the prevention of infant mortality 
has become so vital and so important that in nearly 
every city of the country, clubs and societies have been 
formed for the study of this broad subject — how to 
care for the baby. Newspapers and magazines have 
been lending their columns to articles on the question. 

Nevertheless, facts, not theories, are what the 
mothers of today are seeking. Practical and useful in- 
formation is the thing most needed. It is true that 
there are many books on the market, but none that 
helps the mother except in a general way, as the sub- 
ject has been touched upon as yet only lightly. Some 
of these books and magazine articles have been written 
by persons who never had a child, and contain hysteri- 
cal ideas regarding baby's health and diet. 

Even the nurse who obtains her training in a gen- 
eral hospital knows very little about infants, as she 
has the direction of each one only for a short time. 
It requires constant care during the succeeding months 
to give real knowledge and experience. Still no ex- 
perience is worthy of the name, unless it is successful, 
as almost any person can care for a baby for a short 
length of time. Results are what people are after, and 
not experiments. Any one can experiment, but what 
of the outcome? 

The making of strong, healthy, happy boys and girls 
is accomplished in babyhood. Babyhood cannot afford 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 115 

to wait for the lesson of experience. In order to give 
advice or help to mothers successful experience is re- 
quired, for there is a way that is successful, a medicine 
for every disease, a remedy for every case. 

In this book are certain articles and remedies which 
have been found useful and beneficial in not only the 
care of the baby, but also his welfare. Every mother 
who may test either the methods of caring for babies 
or the articles for use herein named will learn the truth 
of this statement. This book is sent forth with the 
belief that it will prove a blessing to every mother and 
a means of health and comfort to every baby, as it con- 
tains facts which have been proven by exhaustive tests. 

day's DEATHS 40,000 

Washington, D. C, Oct. 9. — Measures to diminish 
infant mortality were discussed at the IStli annual 
congress on health which was held here during the 
week, and an effort will be made to have America do 
its share in the world-wide effort to lessen the number 
of deaths of babies. Conditions in the cities w^ere 
blamed for a great proportion of these deaths, experts 
reporting that children are being brought up in sur- 
roundings which never give them a chance to get the 
right start in life, even if they are able to survive the 
diseases and dangers that menace them from the 
minute they are born. 

Demonstrating by data that approximately 55,000,000 
babies are born each year and that about 15,000,000 
die before the first year of life, Edward Bunnell Phelps 
of New York city, asserted the world's infant mortality 
probably reached the enormous figure of 40,000 babies' 
deaths each day, year in and year out, which practi- 
cally means that an infant death occurs every other 
second. 



116 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 



CHAPTER 37 

EXPERIMENTING WITH BABY THE DECLINE 




Unfortunately the mother cannot always nurse her 
baby, and it becomes necessary to supply the infant 
with artificial food. The question of greatest import- 
ance is, what substitute for the mother's milk shall be 
used ? The entire future of the helpless little being 
depends in no small degree upon the answer to that 
question. 

The appalling death rate among infants everywhere 
is due principally to errors in feeding. How vital then 
becomes the question of what shall go into baby's 
bottle? The younger the infant, the more important 
is the feeding question, as the digestive tract is in an 
exceeding active state of development at this time. 

Precious lives of babies are only too frequently lost 
thi^ough the ignorance of the mother who does not 
realize that the baby's stomach is as the most fragile 
plant — too delicate to be experimented upon for it is 
not made of indestructible material or of Indian rub- 
ber. The stomach is the principal organ of the body, 
for through its functions we are fed and kept alive. 
It requires a large amount of nerve force or vital 
energy to operate its several functions and to keep 
healthy. Babies seldom thrive on experiments and 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 117 

valuable time is lost, Avliile the little bod}^ suffers un- 
told injury from lack of proper nourishment suited to 
its needs. Babyhood cannot afford to wait for the 
lesson of experience, which often is not learned until 
the child's life or health is gone. 

If baby is cross, fretful, troubled with colic, with 
diarrhoea, or undigested stool and is not gaining ; when 
his sleep is short and easily broken, and his little life 
is not perfectly healthy and free from trouble, then you 
may know his food disagrees. 

A baby is the most delicate organism in the world, 
and the nearest perfection ; so sensitive to the slightest 
variations from fixed principles that without apparent 
cause digestive disturbances occur. Every time the 
baby suffers with colic, it depletes its strength, dimin- 
ishes its vitality, strains the undeveloped muscles of 
the stomach. These conditions so weaken the digestive 
organs that they are reflected years afterward. 

If mothers knew what to feed their infants in the 
beginning, and were not compelled to experiment with 
food which is not suitable, very few infants would die. 
''Every mother knows that happiness or misery, suc- 
cess or failure, of her little one depends upon the 
knowledge and love she ijuts into the task of bringing 
it up.''— American Motherhood. 

The first year of a child's life decides the physical 
future of the growing boy or girl. A baby, fed nor- 
mally on properly constituted food (with every essen- 
tial element for building), has an equal chance with 
any breast-fed infant. 

Wisdom and experience are required with the ma- 
jority of babies in order to raise them successfully. 
There is a big difference between experiment and gen- 
uine experience. Generally there is too much experi- 
menting with baby's stomach. Experiment means a 
trial, or a test to prove some theory, frequently without 
coming to a knowledge of the real truth. Experience 
means skilful, wise; one who knows without experi- 
menting. Trouble gives experimenting, but experience 
means these troubles and difficulties have been over- 
come successfullv. The individual then can brino' the 



118 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

child to perfect health without experimenting, the re- 
sults being from knowledge and experience, rather than 
from chance experimenting. 

All infants are liable to temporary derangement by 
which the digestive power for the time is reduced, and 
unless some modification be quickly made in the diet, 
nutrition becomes seriously impaired. The occurrence 
of gastric catarrh is the principal difficulty to be met. 
If a food or breast milk is continued after it had begun 
to disagree, a catarrh of the delicate mucous membrane 
is almost inevitably caused. 

There is always the danger that the defective nutri- 
tion, at first merely temporary-, may become chronic, 
and the power of resisting new injurious influences is 
much weakened. 

"It is not what we eat, but what we digest that is 
important." To insure perfect digestion is the first 
thing. If digestion is poor, food that should be ab- 
sorbed joins the mass of waste to the detriment of 
health and strength. Imperfect nutrition constitutes 
the commonest form of disease and furnishes the most 
frequent cause of death in infants. When infants are 
fed from the beginning upon food which they digest 
and assimilate, their resistance to disease is such that 
perfect health is a natural consequent. Too much 
stress cannot be put upon the dangers of malnutrition, 
and the disastrous results. Many children never re- 
cover, and many lives are wrecked and weakened so 
that perfect health can never be enjoyed. 

One of the first symptoms of malnutrition is found 
in the baby's stools. If modified milk is being tried 
there will be a greenish stool with white hard curds 
of milk accompanied by mucus. If baby is being 
suckled, the stool will frequently be partly digested, 
but there will be small white curds of undigested milk. 
If baby is being tried on some prepared food contain- 
ing no milk, the stool Avill be a pasty, drab stool, brown- 
ish, or little changed stool, or perfectly green. 

For a while the baby will seem to be much the same, 
only there will be little or no increase in weight. Then 
gradually, little by little, the stomach and intestines 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 119 

will grow weaker, losing vitality and strength and with 
less ability to digest food. First one sjanptom appears, 
then another. The stomach fails first; the labor it is 
burdened with breaks it down faster than the scant 
and half-poisoned nourishment can build it up. The 
stomach loses tone ; its walls become weak, relaxed and 
irritated. The other delicate organs of the body, look- 
ing to the stomach for nourishment, receive poisonous 
matter instead. The infant's whole digestive tract,, 
every organ of the bod,y, tissues, cells, bones and blood, 
become involved and starved. There is no part of the 
little body that does not suffer from lack of nutrition 
which means life, health and happiness. 

Even a strong, well body could not withstand long 
the ravages of such poisons as the starved blood carries. 
The nerves are not fed, and the delicate and compli- 
cated nervous system falls into such a state that the 
baby is no longer able to sleep as it should. With 
neither rest nor nourishing food, the little sufferer is 
in a pitiful condition. Wrinkles, lines and a careworn,, 
joyless expression appear on the little face, like that 
of some old person, instead of dimples and bubbling 
laughter. The flesh becomes soft and flabby, dry and 
lifeless, because the tissues and cells begin to dry up 
from lack of nourishment. Its face becomes pale, the 
lips pale and thin, or scarlet red from inward irrita- 
tion. The fontanelle is sunken. The bowels are irregu- 
lar and capricious. Constipation alternates with occa- 
sional attacks of diarrhoea. 

Baby generally cries all day and night, at one time 
from abdominal pains excited by the presence of undi- 
gested food; at another time from hunger which the 
passage of the meal has failed to appease. Colic is a 
source of annoyance to some children suffering from 
indigestion, and this adds greatly to the suffering. 

Attacks of nettle rash are common, also eczema. 
The mouth frequently becomes inflamed, causing baby 
to fuss at the breast or bottle. Another symptom of 
the irritation excited by improper food is what is 
known as "inward fits." 

Still another symptom is found in the odor of the 



120 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

body. A child which is not receiving sufficient nour- 
ishment will have a distinct odor caused by the cuta- 
neous excretion from the glands of the skin. The func- 
tion of the sweat glands is to gather impurities from 
the blood, and if baby is not being properly nourished 
the body will give off a peculiar smell. 

There are many, many children suffering from mal- 
nutrition who are neither ravenous, or have colic, nettle 
rash, or eczema, but who are quiet and apparently sat- 
isfied. Still they waste more and more, and die at last 
starved and exhausted. (See "Starvation Fever/' and 
*'Xervousness." ) 



CHAPTER 38 

SO-CALLED '• OVERFEEDING BABY" 

When a mother has fed her baby three or four ounces 
of food at a feeding and her baby does not digest the 
food and does not gain, frequently she is told that she 
is overfeeding, which is most incorrect. Usually it is 
a case of improper food. Xot knowing this, the mother 
may give less at a feeding, and lengthen out the feeding 
time. Of course the babe, instead of getting better, 
must get worse. 

In the first place the mother, instead of overfeeding, 
was giving improper food, for if the baby had been 
digesting the food, she could feed until the baby was 
satisfied and it would have grown fat instead of poorer. 

The same method is employed with the baby at the 
breast; if the baby vomits and there are green stools 
and undigested curds. The mother lets baby nurse 
less and less frequently, although things do not better 
themselves. Any mother who nurses her infant every 
three hours for only seven or ten minutes at a nursing, 
not only will dry up her milk, but will starve her baby 
as well as weaken its digestive powers. The stomach 
of a child only holds a given amount, and when the 
child is fed proper food it is almost impossible to over- 
feed, for when a babv is satisfied it will refuse to take 



THE TRUTH AHOXTT THE BABY 121 

more tlian it wants. If it does, it will tliroAv up the 
excess. 

There is such a thing as overfeeding bab}^, but not in 
the sense that many think. Stockmen call it "stalled." 
When animals become fat and there has been a good 
appetite, the system or body seems to have an over- 
supply. When this occurs the animal Avill refuse to 
eat scarcelA^ anything, sometimes for several days. 
After that for some time the animal will not have as 
hearty an appetite as before. 

Many fat babies become overfed and will refuse to 
eat scarcely anything for days at a time. Nature does 
not make the demand. But true overfeeding never 
takes place with an underfed child, where Nature is 
continuallv makins: demands. 



CHAPTER 39 

THE STARVATION DIET FOR BABIES AND ADULTS 

When Ave stop to consider the human body and its 
marvelous perfection we can exclaim Avith David that 
the human body is ''fearfully and Avonderfully made." 
The mechanism, the skill and the Avorkmanship dis- 
played in the human body is simply perfection itself. 

In conception, it is diAdne ; in design, perfect; in 
architecture, grand ; in construction, Avonderful ; in 
arrangement, marvelous. We can look upon and marvel 
at the wonderful organism ; but Ave cannot comprehend 
or understand ''nor hoAv the bones do groAV in the Avomb 
of her that is Avith child ; even so thou knoAvest not the 
Avorks of God who maketh all." — Ecc. 11-5. 

The all-Avise Creator, Avhen He first made man, made 
him perfect. He formed every organ of the body Avith 
direct reference to the function to be i)erfornied. Every 
bone, muscle, nerve, organ and tissue formed in the 
construction of this Avonderful organism is made of the 
right kind of material ; is of the proper form and size ; 
placed in the right position to serve best the purpose 
for which they AA^ere individually and collectively de- 



122 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

signed and to perform the pecnliar dnties assigned to 
each. 

Some of onr vital and necessary organs were not 
made to rest but very- little, for instance, we breathe, 
nsing onr Inngs from the hour of birth until death; our 
lungs do not wear out. The heart is the most powerful 
engine known to science. Its daily work is equal to 
one-third of that of all the muscles of the body. Xo 
slave ever performed his work more patiently than the 
heart. Its task is essential to life and health. This 
wonderful organ throbs on night and day, week in and 
week out, the year round, with ceaseless, tireless energy. 
Its vitality is as amazing as its strength. While life 
exists this tireless organ never stops. 

The stomach also is an organ built for work and not 
for rest, for there must be a constant repairing and 
upbuilding of the unceasing destruction which is con- 
tinually going on. If fresh food be not daily supplied, 
this work would soon cease and the life flicker out. 

Xo one could possibly believe in almost constantly 
resting the stomach on which our bodies and vital 
organs depend for life and strength if he would stop 
and consider a moment. In our beginning, which was 
indeed small — jtist a tiny germ planted in a fertile spot 
hid away from the eyes of man, as David the Psalmist 
said, "thou hast covered me in my mother's womb" — 
none could give life or add to the tiny germ. God was 
wise; He knew what the result would be if man was 
allovN'ed to tamper. Xature alone mothered and fed 
the small spark of life every moment with a supply of 
nourishing food, else the small spark of life would 
have died or lain undeveloped. Mother nature had to 
work rapidly supplying constantly the building ma- 
terial for every part of the small body, as at a given 
time — nine months, or tT^'0 hundred and eighty days — 
she must show forth her marvelous mysterious creation 
— the baby. 

If man had been permitted to meddle with the 
supply of nourishment, what a queer looking lot we 
would be — some babies would be prepared for birth 
in o-iven time, whilst others would be a vear and more 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 123 

in preparation. When this wonderful little being, the 
baby, is placed in our hands it feels its first pangs of 
hunger. Nature's product, the baby, has natural in- 
stincts, but after birth man supposes it knows nothing 
about what it wants or what it needs, albeit this little 
being is built entirely of food; at first only a small 
germ with its spark of life divine, then wholly built 
out of food as supplied from the mother's blood, it 
feels ; it cries ; it grows, and the feeding proposition 
has to go on continually as long as life lasts — for it 
is composed of "food first, food last, and all the time." 
Much has been written of late years regarding the 
supposed benefits of starvation for overcoming disease. 
The starvation fad has been carried to an extreme. 
Some one writes glowing accounts of the wonderful 
feats he can perform by eating one baked apple for 
breakfast, a small handful of nuts and a glass of pure 
water for lunch, a five mile walk for supper, topped 
with a raw carrot and a glass of water. Others go 
further and tell of herculean feats on no food at all, 
fasting for forty days. 

During the great Chicago fire, a sister of charity was 
working among the sufferers with no thought of self. 
Food was scarce, and many needed help. This sister 
had only a few crackers and a cup of tea at each meal 
for weeks. When food became plentiful once more she 
found her stomach had shrunken and her body was in 
a bad condition. She was mauy years gettting over 
the effects of the fasting period, and suffered untold 
agony with her stomach. 

Instead of curing indigestion or other troubles, star- 
vation opens the door and paves the way for new dis- 
eases. Any one who will study the human body, blood 
and organs cannot possibly believe in starving for any 
cause ; rather in an abundance of easily-digested food 
to build up the waste products, restore them, purify 
the blood instead of starving it and filling it with im- 
purities. 

There is no practice that can in fact do so much in- 
jury to the human body as starvation. A man without 
food soon starves to death, as the oxvoen will have con- 



124 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

sumed all the available flesh of his body. The blood 
becomes starved and impoverished, and makes way 
for disease and death, as the starved blood cannot 
build up the worn places in the body. 

This starvation system has been practiced in both 
adult and infant and carried to such an extent that 
death has been the natural result. When the stomach 
does not receive the proper nourishment, the functions 
are not performed and the stomach finally becomes so 
weak from lack of sufficient food, and poAverless to 
assimilate any food that the body is tortured to death. 
"They that die by famine, die by inches." 

As a matter of fact starvation is to the average man 
or woman an extremely dangerous practice. The heart, 
lungs, stomach, bowels, liver, and other organs need to 
be employed nearly all the time and kept active in order 
to sustain life. 

Nine days' starvation, far from placing a person in a 
condition of robust health, would be very likely to kill 
him, or at least put him in a state of deplorable weak- 
ness, besides causing the stomach to shrink. The 
starved nerves of the stomach become paralyzed or 
deadened. The little cells which absorb food into the 
blood shrink and cannot perform their functions. 
There should be an abundance of food, as there must 
Ibe a certain amount of waste to distend the digestive 
tract and prevent constipation. A long-continued diet 
of low nutritive value, composed of too much vegetable 
foods, causes defective i^hysical condition and lessens 
the capacity for work ; increases the amount of illness ; 
raises the death rate ; lowers the resistance to disease, 
as protein of vegetables cannot take the place of meat 
protein for the body. 

As there has been such failure to obtain the looked- 
for results from a starvation diet, many physicians in 
the East have turned their backs on the starvation 
amounts. In Chicago and different cities there are ex- 
periment stations, and poor children are being fed with 
marvelous results. Much light is being thi-own on the 
subject. The fact that the food supply materially in- 
fluences the development of the body is of particular 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 125 

importance in respect to the diet of young children, 
bnilding up the body to make strong, healthy men and 
women, to resist disease and overcome disease. As is 
a well-known fact in tubercular cases, lay on flesh and 
the trouble vanishes. The foreign nations, Germany, 
Sweden and Norway are the healthiest people on the 
face of the earth, and they eat the most as well as the 
most often. 

The starvation system has been tried on the poor, 
helpless infants, and has very successfully killed them, 
or wrecked their health. The idea was, feed just as 
little at a time as possible, just as far distant from the 
next feeding as possible, to rest the stomach and leave 
the intestines flat and lank. In the meantime, if baby 
cried, give a little boiled and cooled water. Fill baby 
with anything but food which might satisfy and build 
up its body. If baby did not gain on this, feed a little 
less and at still greater intervals. Of course baby 
would naturally make a fuss about such inhumane 
treatment, and the mother, being told that boiled and 
cooled water was good for it, would let it have the 
water, not knowing how very injurious the constant 
sucking and occasional swallowing of the water was^ 
for her baby. She did not know that this often caused 
chronic diarrhoea, and more indigestion by sucking, 
Which continually stimulated the digestive juices. 
Perhaps the baby was given a pacifier to wear out his 
jaws and bring on a case of adenoids, if possible. 

The mother will say, "Why, water is good for baby."^ 
Water is like other good and beneficial things ; it too 
can be overdone. Only a certain amount is required 
daily for urine to float off the waste, etc. (See ''Ignor- 
ance.") Insufficient nourishment affects a child's body 
in this manner ; untold injury is of course done. 

The digestive organs are but partially formed at 
birth. In the jaws of every new-born child lie the teeth- 
ing germs of both the milk teeth and the permanent 
teeth. The new-born normal child is perfect; nothing^ 
is lacking ; 'tis a "casket of great possibilities." What 
is to be done in order to carry on the perfect work 
and make a perfect, vigorous, healthy, happy child ?^ 



126 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

Starvation, insufficient nourishment? Xo, a child is 
like a seed planted in the ground, or like a plant. 
Withhold proper nourishment and care, and they 
wither and die. So does the little child ; or he becomes 
stunted and unfit to face the world, for it is not being 
given an equal chance. 

The heart, lungs, liver, stomach, intestines and kid- 
neys have to be kept busy most of the time. Why? 
Because Nature has to work rapidly to develop the 
body for its independent existence. The digestive 
organs must reach development by a certain time; the 
teeth are supposed to develop as the digestive organs 
develop, so at a given time the child will be able to care 
for stronger food and cause his body to grow bigger. 

Neither the body nor digestive organs can devolop 
or grow strong without the proper food and amounts. 
The body depends on the stomach. A poorly-nourished 
stomach cannot make a strong body. Without plenty 
of food the intestines cannot be filled and given Avork 
enough to keep life in the cells without food. When the 
cells and tissues of the body wither, become soft and 
flabby, how can the organs throw out the impurities 
through the skin. There is not much life and blood 
in soft, flabby flesh. The kidneys cannot drain away 
impurities and keep active, unless the fluid is furnished 
the urine becomes scant, concentrated, paving the Avay 
for disease of the kidneys. 

A baby should pass a much larger amount of urine 
than an adult. Many mothers will object because baby 
urinates too much, fairly drowning itself. Few mothers 
appreciate the benefit to babies caused by a large 
amount of urine. If baby is not growing and gaining, 
the quantity of his blood is not increased; the heart 
is not given enough work and naturally becomes weak. 
Of course the child is less able to digest any food, as it 
takes plenty of good blood to digest food (see ^Tlan of 
Digestion"), and to furnish the necessary warmth to 
the body. Almost any mother will see the importance 
of proper nourishment, and what it means to the child. 
And then there is the satisfaction of knowing when she 
sees the weekly gain that her baby's body, digestive 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 127 

organs, teeth, etc., are developing, so that in due time 
as Nature intended, the child would have the properly 
developed organs and teeth to care for future heavier 
food, and go on towards a healthy man or Avoman. 

An Eastern physician Avho did not believe in eating, 
would not allow infants under his charge to be fed 
more than three times daily; and none at night. His 
argument was that adults should eat three times a 
day, and it was a mistaken idea to allow the infant 
to eat any more. The mother, by his scheme, was given 
an opportunity to do something else besides feed the 
baby all the time. 

A starvation schedule has been mapped out for 
mothers to use with their infants. The amounts sug- 
gested would barely keep life in the little body; there 
is none to gain or grow on ; or for the necessary increas- 
ing gastric capacity. The poor infant's stomach grad- 
ually becomes less able to care for its small portion 
of food and dies by inches. And many will say, '"Oh, 
it is so hard to understand babies." Many physicians 
are advocating plenty to eat for babies and children 
with marked success, for it has been proven that starv- 
ing a baby did not help it any, or cure its diseases. 

STARVATION SCHEDULE FOR BABIES 



-^GE OF , Quantity to ] Frequency cf Feedings ofFe'ldbgs ^ot^l Amount 
BABl Feed ^ ^ i in 24 hrs. i ^^^ in 24 hrs. 



1st and 
2d week 



Ever}' 2 hours from 
6 a. m. to 10 f 
once at nieht . 



1 oz 6 a. m. to 10 p. m.;i 10 10 ozs. 



2 weeks... IH ozs " " " 10 15 ozs. 



2 months.. 13^ to 2 ozs. " " " 10 15 to 20 ozs. 

3 months. . 2H ozs I " " " 10 25 ozs. 

4 months. . 3 ozs Do not feed nights. .1 10 30 ozs. 

Smonths.. 3 ozs " " " | 9 30 or 27 ozs. 

6 months. . 43^ or 5 ozs. ^^rnight''''''' ' '"''''" ^ ^7 to 30 ozs. 

7 <fc 8 mos. 6 ozs " " "I 6 36 ozs. 



128 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

The starvation schedule here given is one that has 
been much used. Xo baby could possibly survive for 
any length of time on it, no baby could possibly thrive. 
There is scarcely any allowance for the necessary in- 
creasing gastric capacity, in spite of the fact that an 
infant's gastric capacity will increase very rapidly the 
first two months, and will take with relish three ounces 
at the end of the first week, and often three and one- 
half ounces. In the schedule here given, three ounces 
are allowed at four and five months, and they should 
be allowed at one week of age or less. 

There is no already-starving baby that can be brought 
to perfect health and flesh on starvation amounts, 
whether it is the best constituted breast milk, or a baby 
food which can be digested perfectly. The amount 
suited to the child's gastric capacity, the amount which 
will satisfy him, must be given or he will never recover. 

Baby Austin was unable to find anything he could 
digest. At four months he weighed nine and one-half 
pounds, had a large frame, was pale and thin ; eyes 
sunken, Avith large blue circles around them. He was 
also threatened with rickets ; perspiration Avould run 
off his head in big drops. He cried day and night, and 
was so nervous he could not sleep. 

As he did not gain, he was put on two ounces every 
two and one-half hours. He grew still weaker and more 
pitiful. The mother was frantic, and could get no rest 
day or night as she Avatched her precious baby fading 
away. She became skeptical and lost all hope. 

At last he was put on the food which had saved so 
many babies' lives. Two ounces every two hours were 
giA^en him. He digested the food perfectly, but neither 
gained nor slept, seeming to be still more hungry, and 
when he saw his bottle coming Avould scream out in 
agony and gnaw at his arm. His mother was about 
ready to stop the food, even if he did digest it, when a 
nurse took charge of the case. 

The nurse fed him CA^ery hour and one-half eight 
ounces. He aa ent to sleep and slept sound. Soon he 
began to coo and laugh. The third day he wanted his 
bottle everA' tAvo hours. He was fed three or four times 



THE TRUTH APJOUT THE BABY 129 




BABY AUSTIN 



130 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

during the night, and gained two and one-half pounds 
in twelve days. Soon all signs of rickets disappeared. 
He was slow about teething, but became a healthy boy, 
full of life. If he had been kept on the starvation diet, 
he would have died, even if he did digest the food per- 
fectly. He was too near death's door. 

The greatest trouble in the world today is that it is 
full of mothers like the one above. Our own country 
is full of them. They have had overfeeding and small 
amounts preached at them until they are afraid to feed 
for fear of killing baby. If it takes food to make the 
man or woman, if it takes food to sustain life, why 
will it cause death? 

There never was a baby yet fed into the grave; but 
the countries are filled with graves of little ones im- 
properly fed and starved into them. 

The writer has made a specialty of hox3eless cases of 
malnutrition ; and has had hundreds of starved, dying 
babies in charge, bringing them to perfect health and 
flesh. Xot one single life would have been saved if 
the bab}' had not been fed as suggested in this book. 
Some mothers were obstinate and skeptical at first, but 
as the baby was not making any headway, they yielded 
at last, and the results were marvelous. 




Xote the open mouth and starved, alert expression, 
before being fed proper food and proper amounts. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 131 



After being fed as suited; mouths closed; satisfied, 
peaceful expression. 



CHAPTER 40 

STARVATION FEVER 

Children occasionally have acute attacks of indiges- 
tion, accompanied by a fever. In such cases, and the 
patient is placed on a starvation diet for a few days, 
this diet must not be maintained except for a short 
time, or the fever will become a starvation fever and 
will continue until nourishing, easily-digested food is 
given. 

Little H., six years of age, had never been as strong 
as most children. He was taken with an acute attack 
of indigestion, accompanied by a fever, and was put on 
barley and mutton broth and allowed very small 
amounts. His bowels were washed out by means of a 
high enema twice a day, and he also was given a physic. 
The child grew no better, but gradually became weaker 
and thinner until he was unable to sit up. 

The fever which had left him on the third day now 
had returned and was, due to lack of nourishment, 
starvation fever. Finally the mother gave up in de- 
spair, placing her last hope in a new system of diet. 
The child was given a weak, easily-digested food — all 
he wanted — every hour and one-half. The physic and 



132 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

high enemas were discontinued. On the third day after 
this treatment, the child went out in the yard to play, 
feeling fine, but still a little weak. All fever had dis- 
appeared. 

Shortly before death mercifully relieves a baby suffer- 
ing from malnutrition or miasmus, as it is then called, 
the child will be taken with a high fever which lasts 
until the end, often three days later. 



C H A P T E E 41 

NERVOUSNESS IN CHILDREN 

Causes : Malnutrition, starvation, teething, improper 
care of the genital organs, masturbation, worms. 

A dieted person is always nervous. Starvation is the 
keynote to nervousness. 

A thin, improperly nourished child is always ner- 
vous, for the nerves, blood, and every organ of the body 
is starved. Let easily-assimilated food be fed, and ner- 
vousness will disapi^ear. 

If a child is fat and health}^ and under eighteen 
months of age, his nervousness is probably caused by 
teething. 

ATorms will cause nervousness, also improper care of 
the genital organs. If the child is a boy, the foreskin 
of the penis may be too long, causing pressure on the 
delicate nerves of the glans penis. If allowed to con- 
tinue for any length of time, St. Titus' dance, epileptic 
fits, fainting spells and stupidness are some of the 
results. 



C H A P T E K 1: 



VOMITING 



There are two kinds of vomiting, habitual vomiting 
and occasional vomiting, or spitting up of small por- 
tions of food. The cause of occasional vomiting is 
usually one of the following: 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 133 

1. Irritating food, or milk containing too much acid. 
Sometimes mothers Y\^ho are suckling their infants, 
will eat i)ickles, oranges, or drink malt, wine, porter, 
beer. These Avill cause the milk to be more acidulous, 
hence irritating. Sometimes cows are fed barley, which 
usually makes milk to acidulous for most babies, caus- 
ing yomiting and in many cases diarrhoea. 

2. Feeding too soon before or after giying castor oil. 

3. Going too long between feedings, or gulping down 
the food after a long wait, will both cause yomiting. 

4. An unyielding band — a little gas or pressure of 
an unyielding band will often cause baby to lose part 
of his meal. The bandage is applied to the infant's 
body for two reasons. First, to keep in place the dress- 
ings on the cord; secondly, to furnish support to the 
abdomen and protect the intestines. During infancy 
the child uses all its abdominal muscles at each breath, 
hence care should be taken not to pin the band too 
snugly. If too tight, it will interfere with breathing 
as well as cause yomiting. 

5. Too weak a food, if fed for too long a time. It is 
well to start baby on a weak formula and if the body 
and stomach are weak, to feed weak food for two weeks, 
then commence to strengthen, keeping pace with the 
stomach when it is gradually growing stronger. Weak 
food does not agree with a strong stomach, but in pro- 
portion, the strength of food and the strength of the 
stomach being equalized. 

6. A cold which upsets the whole digestiye tract, 
causing an extra amount of gas. lentil the cold is 
better, this will cause baby to yomit. Coughing also 
will cause yomiting. 

7. Feyer. 

8. Teething. Many babies Ayill yomit occasionally a 
whole feeding at different times during the teething 
period. 

9. Cold food, or food too sweet. 

10. Insufficiency of food. Too small amounts cause 
spasmodic contractions instead of the uniform peris- 
taltic (churning I motion, producing yomiting. 



134 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

11. Too rich food (as suited to the stomach), as well 
as too weak food. These, like an irritating food or an 
unyielding band, may bring on the habit of vomiting, 
unless soon remedied, for babies form habits very easily. 

It is perfectly natural for all young babies to spit 
up small portions of their food. Spitting up one or 
two teaspoons of milk after feeding is not true vomit- 
ing, and should not cause any anxiety. 

Soon after feeding the milk is always curdled in the 
stomach and has a sour smell, as the juices in the 
stomach are obliged first to curdle the milk before 
digestion can take place. The contents of every 
stomach, shortly after eating, have an acid reaction 
which is absolutely necessary as Nature works that 
way. (See "Plan of Digestion.") But if baby vomits 
immediately after eating, the milk of course comes up 
sweet without being curdled, as it had not remained 
long enough in the stomach for the juices to act. 

Some days baby may not feel quite as well as usual, 
just like older persons; and occasionally will spit up 
abnormally sour substances. If this persists, add lime 
water or a small pinch of soda to his food to counter- 
act the effect of too much acid-irritation. 

HABITUAL VOMITING 

There are different causes for habitual vomiting. 
Some babies from the hour of birth vomit habitually, 
and while fed on a food or breast milk which Avas per- 
fectly digested so that they gained steadily every week, 
still they continued to vomit until they were seven or 
eight months old and weighing from eighteen to twenty 
pounds. The vomiting was due either to some pre-natal 
cause or to the swallowing of large amounts of fluid or 
mucus at birth, or because the meconium in the bowels 
was not gotten rid of soon enough. 

By habitual vomiting is meant the vomiting of large 
amounts of food, or nearly the whole feeding, as a 
matter of regular habit. When gastric indigestion 
takes the form of habitual or true vomiting, it is very 
obstinate and discouraging to deal with, as there is not 
only the disease (indigestion) to deal with, but also 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 135 

the habit. A cure of the habit can never be effected 
until the stomach is brought to its normal condition 
and the indigestion cured; for the vomiting baby (when 
due to indigestion), will continue generally for some 
time to vomit after a food is found w^hich the baby can 
digest perfectly, and the baby is gaining steadily every 
week. 

It takes time to effect a cure. A child that has been 
vomiting a short time is easier to cure than one that 
has been vomiting for a longer period. When the 
stomach has become worn out and irritated, and upset 
in its long struggle Avith improper food, it is no longer 
the healthy stomach it was once, and no one could 
reasonably expect it to recover instantly when offered 
the proper food. In all cases of indigestion, the 
stomach and intestines become relaxed, lose tone and 
strength, and do not secrete the digestive juices prop- 
erly. In many cases the churning motion or peristal- 
tic movement, is spasmodic. 

Then when a food is fed which is digested without 
hard, taxing labor, the relaxed stomach commences to 
gain strength little by little; the mucous membrane 
comes out of its stupor; and the digestive juices rise 
to the surface. The muscles of the stomach regain their 
power ; every organ of the body takes on new life. The 
vomiting does not cease for weeks and probably three 
or four months; but as the stomach gradually grows 
stronger the vomiting becomes less. There will be days 
when baby will scarcely vomit at all ; then a day when 
the vomiting will seem to regain its old force. But 
baby will gain weekly, and the mother will be encour- 
aged. 

For vomiting babies, the strength of food should be 
increased slowly, mother weighing baby each week so 
that she can tell how to strengthen the milk in order 
to keep baby gaining each week ; and when the strength 
of food that is suited to baby's stomach be reached, the 
vomiting will stop. Vomiting babies should ilot be 
handled much, especially immediately after eating. 
They should be fed smaller amounts and more often 
than babies that do not vomit. If baby goes too long 



130 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

between feedings, the empty stomach and bowels fill 
with gas and the vomiting will be nmch worse. 

Vomiting will cease gradually where it is due to indi- 
gestion. As the stomach grows stronger, the solids of 
the food will be retained and only sour Ayater will be 
yomited. This is a good sign. 

It is yery easy to starve a yomiting baby to death. 
It will yomit just as much whether fed a small or large 
amount; but if fed often and larger amounts, more is 
kept down and that is what Avill build up the stomach 
and distend the intestines, keeping life and some power 
in them. 

There is a system which has been much in use which 
of course always brought failure and death. After 
many years of experience the writer has never known 
of a case which was saved by the method, but many of 
these little ones who had tried the system and lay at 
death's door were saved by a better and simpler method. 

It was the custom to try baby on two ounces every 
two hours, and if the vomiting continued, one ounce 
every two hours. If this failed, two ounces ever}^ three 
hours, or baby was not allowed any food from six to 
tAvelve hours. Of course no good results followed, as 
the already weak stomach grew weaker and less able 
to care for its food. The empty stomach and intestines 
naturally filled with gas. When the warm food entered, 
the gas had to make way for the food; and when 
belched, brought food with it, besides handicapping the 
stomach in digestion. 



Baby L. at six months, weighed five and one-half 
pounds, and was troubled with chronic vomiting 
brought on by indigestion. She was almost skin and 
bone, and cried continually, vomiting practically her 
entire feedings both day and night. She was naturally 
constipated, as very little passed the pyloris. Her 
stomach was lank, the walls extremely thin. There was 
every indication of Pyloric Stenosis, but as that is 
extremely rare, no thought of an operation was har- 
bored. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 



137 




Bab}^ L. had been given up by specialists and physi- 
cians. When everything liad failed and all hope gone, 
she was tried on Dennos Food, and was fed every hour 
during the day, about three ounces per feeding, and 
more if she wanted it. Being a snuill-franied child, she 
was generally satisfied with three ounces. She vomited 
after each feeding. Then she was placed in a Glascock 
baby jumper (reclining) to keep her quiet and she was 
not handled, and not allowed to cry, or she would vomit 
much worse. On going to bed she was fed six ounces 
or more and did not vomit this as she would go to sleep. 



138 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

When she awoke during the night, slie was given six 
ounces. As the night feedings wei*e all retained, her 
intestines were given a chance to get some nourishment, 
since she digested the food perfectly from the start. 

After her bath in the morning she was given six 
ounces and was allowed to sleep for two hours; then 
the one hour feedings were resumed. But at any time 
in the afternoon that she wished to sleep, she was given 
six ounces and permitted to sleep for two hours. She 
was weighed daily, some days gaining from two to 
three ounces; once a week she would go back two 
ounces, then during the next three days would gain 
three or four ounces. The vomiting continued for three 
months, and gradually ceased. She is now the image 
of health and perfect physique. 

Pyloric Stenosis is very rare, and many cases of 
chronic gastric indigestion have been thought to be 
that disease. Operations are not successful in over- 
coming the trouble, as the little patient is generally so 
weak and run down that the frail body cannot often 
survive the shock of an operation. The pyloris, or 
opening from the stomach into the intestines is so 
small that the food finds great difficulty in passing into 
the intestines, and is vomited. It would not be sur- 
prising for Pyloric Stenosis to follow gastric indiges- 
tion, for a shrinkage of the pyloris and stomach would 
be a result of starvation amounts. 

Baby K. had vomited from the hour of birth. Refus- 
ing to gain, he grew thinner and weaker. The vomiting 
gradually grew worse. Sometimes he would vomit 
right after feeding, apparently the entire amount; 
again he would retain the food for half an hour or more 
and then it would gush out with such force as to throw 
it four or five feet distance. Many foods and Avays of 
modifying cow's milk were tried; everything was vom- 
ited. 

The difficulty was called Pyloric Stenosis and it was 
thought that unless the child was operated upon, death 
would be a natural consequence. As the parents were 
hopeless and felt that an operation would prove fatal, 
they preferred to give the child an opportunity with- 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 13^ 

out trusting to that arduous measure. The baby was 
started on the same method and in the same way as 
Baby L. referred to above. The child gained slowly, 
although he required larger amounts than Baby L. 
Soon he began to grow better and show the effects of 
proper food and treatment. After two months the 
vomiting had almost ceased. 

The secret of success is — an easily-digested food; 
small amount but every hour and enough to satisfy as 
any baby must be satisfied or it will not gain ; and 
above all else— PATIENCE AND CONFIDENCE. 

After baby has been on the weakest formula for two 
weeks the food must be strengthened, or the vomiting 
will never cease. For the stomach has to become strong 
to overcome indigestion and the habit of vomiting ; and 
this can only be done by a food which baby will digest 
perfectly, and by increasing the food slowly so the 
stomach can handle the increasing strength. When the 
stomach reaches a certain strength and the food also 
is increased to a certain strength, vomiting will cease. 

Remember the food must be strengthened in spite of 
the vomiting and that the vomiting will cease grad- 
ually. Commence to strengthen the food part, or if 
baby uses a food with cow's milk, then strengthen the 
milk by adding, for the first week, one-half teaspoon 
of milk extra each day, that is, V2 teaspoonful the first 
day; 1 teaspoonful the second day; IVo teaspoonfuls 
on the third daj, etc. The second or third week may 
see an increase a little faster, say at the rate of one 
teaspoonful a day; the fourth week at the rate of one 
and one-half teaspoonfuls extra, and the fifth week, two 
teaspoonfuls. 

Be sure to watch your feeding chart and do not 
strengthen past the formula for your baby's age. When 
your baby is fed every two hours, allow full amount 
or in proportion to your baby's gastric capacity (See 
"Correct Feeding Schedule"). If the baby vomits after 
the feeding, pay no attention to the vomiting; when 
baby is digesting the food, for if the baby is fed enough 
it will gain in spite of the vomiting and the stomach 



140 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

will grow in strength and the vomiting will cease grad- 
ually. 

Feed when baby awakens at night, giving it all it 
wants ; for a child rarely vomits when it goes to sleep, 
providing the food is one which it can digest. The 
whole feedings or large feedings kept down will add 
just that much to your baby's weight and strength to 
the weak stomach. 



CHAPTER 43. 

BLOOD PURPOSE AND UPBUILDING 

The vital importance to the young infant of an easily 
assimilated food can scarcely be comprehended by the 
average mother. She forgets that digestion is one 
thing, and assimilation another ; that digested food, in 
order to be assimilated, must be absorbed into the 
blood. 

When baby is not digesting its food properly, every 
atom of its body suffers. The blood, which should be 
pure, is being filled with impurities, and these are car- 
ried by the starved blood into eveiw organ and tissue 
of the body to poison them. 

There can be no healthy condition of the blood unless 
it is rich in the materials necessarj^ to repair the waste 
of the system. When the blood is pure, and circulation 
good, all the functions of the body are equipped to do 
their allotted duties ; but when the blood is impure, and 
thin, some weaknesses will surely result and the system 
Ibecomes ripe for disease. Normal, healthy blood is an- 
tagonistic to germ life, while impoverished blood fur- 
nishes a favorable condition for its development. 

The blood is made from the food we eat, and in turn 
feeds all the tissues of the body, and drains away all 
their waste products consumed through exercise. It is 
called the vital (life) fluid, for the tissues of the body 
would die if it were not for the blood. If the blood is 
not in perfect condition, it cannot perform this all- 
important and necessary work. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY' 141. 

The blood must have the proper building material or 
constituents. Health}- blood contains iron, lime, oxy- 
gen, salts, etc. Upon the purity of the blood depends 
health. Disease cannot enter the system to any great 
extent when the blood is properly cleansed. Blood can 
not perform its work if impoverished, and the entire 
system and general health must suffer. Starve the 
blood and the body becomes starved and emaciated, 
should the stomach and intestines become Aveakened 
through improper food or overwork. With adults often 
this overwork is caused by not properly masticating 
the food; in infants it is caused by food which the 
stomach finds hard to digest. When digestion is diffi- 
cult, there is no assimilation of food, but poisons. 

The blood carries oxygen from the lungs to the tis- 
sues, also carries food to the tissues and cells and 
then drains the w^aste products from the tissues to the 
excretory organs — skin, kidneys, liver and lungs. The 
blood is carried to and from the tissues by means of 
circulation, the heart, arteries, capillaries, and veins. 
The heart pumps the blood through the arteries to the 
thin-walled capillaries, where the food in the blood 
passes out to the tissues and waste is given to the 
blood. From the capillaries it drains into the veins 
which run to the heart. The heart then sends the 
blood to the lungs to be purified, to the intestines for 
food, hence to the tissues. 

In young children where tissue change and rapid 
building up is so necessary, one can readily see how 
important it is that baby should have food which it can 
digest and assimilate in order to have pure, rich blood 
filled with building material sufficient to create a 
strong, healthy body and successfully combat disease. 



CHAPTER 44 

ANEMIA 

The anemic patient is Avell-known by sight. Not only 
is there a perceptible pallor of the face, but other parts^ 
which in other people are pink and healthy-looking in 



142 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

the anemic person are AvMtish — the tongue, lips and 
gums. 

In anemia there is a deficiency in the quantity and 
quality of the blood, and in the red corpuscles which 
carry oxygen. The blood itself is deficient in albumen, 
oxygen and iron. Eyery organ of the body suffers. The 
blood, besides nourishing the body, takes away waste 
matter, but in anemia these waste matters accumulate 
and slowly poison the patient, who thereby suffers from 
languor and fatigue. 

Anemia is caused by insufficient nourishment. The 
keynote to the successful treatment of the disease is 
nourishing food, a food tonic that will feed rapidly the 
staryed tissues and blood. 

A child two years of age, premature, was a sufferer 
from anemia. From birth she had been troubled with 
indigestion and malnutrition, so that at twenty-four 
months she weighed eighteen pounds and was unable 
to walk. She made no response to any treatment, was 
pale, thin, and the flesh soft and flabby. She would 
haye periodical vomiting spells and had no appetite. 

The child could digest cow's milk perfectly, but did 
not gain on it. She was put on a weak diet for two 
weeks, which caused her to be hungry and show desire 
to eat. The cow's milk was modified and cream grad- 
ually added to the whole milk until she was taking 
half-milk and half cream. Kaw beef juice and raw 
oysters, which are noted for rapid blood making, were 
given to her two or three times daily in amounts the 
child could handle. A tonic of beef, iron and wine was 
also given. Lemonade or orange juice were given twice 
daily. At the beginning of this treatment the child 
was put in a walker, and in less than two months was 
running about as other children. The pallor began 
to leave, the vomiting spells grew less, and the weight 
Gradually increased. 



THE TPvUTH ABOUT THE r.Al'.Y 143 



CHAPTER 45 

CHRONIC DIARRHOEA 

DiarrliOi^a may result from several different causes, 
as follows : 

1. Cold settling in the abdomen. Often times dur- 
ing changeable weather, the child will take cold, and 
the cold is neglected, settling in the intestines and 
causing diarrhoea. 

2. Insufficient nourishment. When the food is in- 
sufficient, the intestines lose vitalitv and become weak 
and no longer able to retain or assimilate the food 
properly. 

3. Improper food. This also irritates the intestines, 
until they become coated with mucus and a diarrhoea 
results. 

4. Old or sour milk : orange juice ; sometimes pieces 
of paper, coal, a.bite of apple or other fruit; any indi- 
gestible food. 

5. Barley. 

6. Milk from one cow. 

7. Food too weak for the infant's power of digestion. 

8. Milk from cows when they are first turned out to 
green grass in the spring. 

9. Too rich food. 

10. Feeding baby food which is too hot. 

11. Warm water in the baby's bottle between meals. 
Many mothers are in the habit of giving baby warm 
water in its bottle between meals to keep it from crying 
or from sucking an empty bottle. As mothers are often 
told that the water is beneficial (as it is to a certain 
extent I, they think no harm, but the constant sucking 
or drinking is very injurious for baby. Sometimes baby 
will only take a little btit will have a diarrhoea. The 
writer has known personally of a case of this kind. 
This child was thin and emaciated and troubled with 
chronic diarrhoea, yet was taking bismuth daily to 
check the diarrhoea. When the water between meals 
was discontinued and baby fed enough so that it did 
not miss the bottle so much, the diarrhoea ceased. The 



IJrJ: THE TRUTH ALJOUT THE BABY 

cliild had been digesting its food perfectly but had 
gotten the warm water habit. 

Indigestion is not wholly confined to the stomach, 
but frequently takes place in the intestines. Certain 
parts of food are digested and assimilated in the in- 
testines, and when these organs are unable to digest 
such food properly as they should to prepare for blood 
making so that the tissues of the body may be fed and 
renewed, such a dyspeptic state not only subjects the 
body to a semi-staryed or half-fed condition, rendering 
it weak and less resistant to disease, but also allows 
disease germs to enter the body by way of the alimen- 
tary canal and permits food to remain undigested for 
hours. 

The undigested food acted on by the heat and mois- 
ture of the body will ferment and irritate the tender 
mucous membrane of the intestines, and will form 
poisons which are absorbed by the blood and carried 
by it into eyery part of the body. Xature tries to 
remedy the eyil. and the irritated intestines will secrete 
large amounts of mucus in an endeayor to protect the 
inflamed and tender membrane. This mucus will pre- 
yent the normal secretion of the intestines from digest- 
ing the food, and assimilating it. 

In a Ayord, chronic diarrhoea is brought about by 
intestinal indigestion caused by insufficient nourish- 
ment. 

Excellent results are obtained by first giying castor 
oil and bismuth subnitrate (see "Castor Oil," and 
"Bismuth Subnitrate" i , together with an easily di- 
gested food as recommended. 

Baby G. had neyer been able to digest any food. She 
was troubled with indigestion, gastric and intestinal. 
Her bowels would moye eyery hour. She finally was 
placed under charge of a nurse who understood feeding 
of Dennos Food. 

Baby G. was first giyen the large dose of oil ; then in 
each feeding thereafter ten grains of bismtith were 
added. After each bowel moyement an injection of 
three-fourths of a tablespoonful of oliye oil was giyen 
by means of a small infant bulb syringe. The buttocks 



THE TRUTH ABOUT TPIE BABY 145 

were held tight together to prevent her straining and 
expelling the oil, and it was retained nntil the next 
movement. The bowels moved very frequently, and the 
Dennos Food was only partly digested on account of 
the frequent passages which did not allow time for 
digestion. In five days after the above treatment was 
begun, her bowels moved less often and Dennos was 
digested perfectly. The body, stomach and intestines 
then began to build up, and in three weeks all trace of 
intestinal trouble or diarrhoea had disappeared. The 
same can be done with any food which the child can 
digest. The mother must remember that after a severe 
attack of diarrhoea the child's powers of digestion are 
much impaired, there will be an unusual amount of gas 
after feeding and often 'Colic. For this reason all food 
should be diluted more than usual. Baby M., age one 
year, weighed about twenty-five pounds. Had been 
nourished on plain cow's milk. The second summer 
Baby M. had an attack of cholera infantum which left 
the stomach and bowels in a very weakened condition. 
Cow's milk no longer agreed with the child, although 
the child had been nourished on cow's milk from early 
infancy. Baby M. died from malnutrition (indiges- 
tion). 



C H A P T E K 46 

CONSTIPATION 

Causes. — 1. Insufficient bowel development. 

2. Acute diarrhoea. 

3. Too small percentage of fat. 

4. Insufficient amounts of food. 

5. Habit. 

6. Mal-nutrition. 

7. Poor circulation. 

8. Enemas — water injections. 

Constipation frequently follows acute diarrhoea. The 
intestines secrete so much fluid during diarrhoea that a 
child generally will be constipated, the stool then will 
be verv hard and dry from lack of secretion in the 



146 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

intestines. Sometimes it is dillficult to overcome. 
Months of intelligent care have been required in some 
cases to overcome the effects. 

After a passage, an injection of a tablespoonful of 
warm olive oil will prevent the stool from becoming so 
hard while the oil will be nourishing to the colon. In 
this use a small infant bulb syringe, just inserting the 
point into the bowel, injecting the oil, squeezing the 
buttocks together to retain it. 

In the majority of cases constipation is simply a 
habit. Then it makes no difference what baby is fed. 
Time and patience are needed to break any habit. It is 
doubtful if there is another ailment which is more 
prevalent or can cause so much trouble as persistent 
constipation. Many do not realize the importance of 
at least one good movement of the bowels a dsij. 

There are thousands of men and women whose health 
has been wrecked by chronic constipation, from which 
result piles, headaches and many other chronic ner- 
vous affections. 

When the contents leave the stomach it is called 
chyme; after passing through the small intestines it 
is called chyle, and after passing through the colon the 
refuse is called feces or stool. In the majority of cases 
of diarrhoea or constipation the trouble lies in the 
colon or large bowel. 

The colon is a tract about thirty inches long and 
nearly three inches in diameter; in the adult it will 
hold from three to five quarts. The colon extends from 
the cecum upwards to a point near and under the liver, 
passing across the body to the side of the spleen, then 
backward and downward to the left groin, forming a 
shape resembling the letter S, which is called the sig- 
moid flexture. The sigmoid flexture is where the fecus 
accumulates until the proper time for evacuation. 

In cases where there is insufficient nourishment, the 
accumulations are scant and not enough to produce a 
healthy bowel movement daily. There are different 
causes for constipation. A prolonged use of enemas 
will cause paralysis of the lower bowel. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 147 

The colon examines every particle of food after the 
stomach and intestines have digested it. It absorbs 
that which is fit and necessary. The colon innst be 
kept clear and in a healthy condition ; if the decayed 
waste matter is permitted to remain over twenty-four 
hours, the poisons will be absorbed into the blood from 
the waste feces. It is very important that every indi- 
vidual have at least one good movement of the bowels 
a day. It means health. The functions of the bowels 
are the assimilation of the building material in food; 
and after proper treatment the transfer into the blood. 

Healthy blood insures immunity from disease. Were 
it not for the blood the tissues of the body wottld re- 
ceive no nourishment and the body would die, for the 
purpose of the vital fluid is to feed, build up and restore 
our bodies. How important, then, it is to keep the 
system cleaned out so that the blood will not absorb 
the poison from the waste matter or feces. 

After the food has been digested and absorbed by 
stomach and intestinal tract, the refuse passes into 
the colon, and when the colon has received its usual 
accumulation of fecal matter it is then forced into the 
rectum. The blood flows to this part and there is a 
desire to stool. When baby is fed starvation amounts 
it will take several days for the amount of fecal matter 
to pass into the colon and cause a stool, unless the food 
irritates and causes diarrhoea, and a thin, watery stool. 

There inay be several causes for constipation in in- 
fants that have been underfed — lack of secretion in the 
intestines, poor circulation, due to loss of vitality 
caused by over-exertion in trying to assimilate im- 
proper food. The most frequent cause is neglect that 
leads to habit. The cure of constipation is not a diffi- 
cult matter in children, if the mother will be faithful 
and regular in caring for baby. 

It is not well to use enemas regularly for the cure of 
constipation, as the practice tends to disturb the nor- 
mal healthy flow of blood to the parts. The water 
deprives or washes away the natural secretion of the 
intestines, and thus helps to establish a chronic state 



148 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

of weakness of the bowels, instead of strength. The 
final result is paralysis of the bowels. 

A child should be taught regularity from early in- 
fancy. It takes pains at first on the mother's part to 
do this, but the habit is easy to establish and it sayes 
much future labor and anxiety, as a child that has 
learned early control of the bowels is seldom consti- 
pated. 

The best time to get the bowels to moye is at a fixed 
hour each morning just after feeding. As soon as baby 
has fed, place it oyer a small, round yessel held between 
the mother's knees and firmly support the little back. 
At first it is best to stimulate the bowels to action by 
gently inserting a wax pencil. The moyement will 
generally follow. 

The wax pencil does not get the child into the habit 
of using it, but it seryes to draw the blood to this part 
of the body and so strengthens the bowels as it gets 
the baby to strain. Mothers will be surprised at the 
rapidity with which baby learns to induce a bowel 
action without help of any kind except the position. 

In introducing any foreign substance into the rectum 
the greatest care must be taken not to scratch or hurt 
the delicate membrane inside. Use plenty of yaseline, 
both around the anus and on the object used. Take a 
wax candle and smooth it down to a pencil a little 
larger than the little finger, about two and one-half 
inches long and tapered at the end you mean to insert. 
Let the pencil be thicker at the base. Grease well with 
yaseline and insert it oyer halfway into the rectum and 
let it remain until baby strains a few times. Then 
withdraw the pencil and the moyement will generally 
follow. 

The wax suppository is much better than one made 
of soap, as it can be washed without diminishing the 
size, something not true of soap. Neither does it wear 
off. It is not as hard as soap, while the warmth of 
the body when it is inserted, softens it. Glycerine sup- 
positories cause an irritation if used for any length of 
time. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 149 

After h'Ahy is four months old lie ma^^ sit on a nursery 
chair with a small pillow pad at his back. If he can- 
not sit comfortably, but slips through too far, fasten 
into the chair a pad of cloth, the size of the bottom 
of the chair, and cut a hole in the pad. 

If constipation persists, however, obstinate cases will 
yield to the following treatment: At 9 a. m. give one 
teaspoonful of Milk of Magnesia. In two hours give 
another teaspoonful, then to each feeding add from 
four to six drops of Milk of Magnesia and let the baby 
take it right in the food. If six drops of Magnesia in 
each feeding causes too frequent passages, try using 
four or three; at least use enough to regulate the 
baby's bowels. Keep this up four or eight weeks reg- 
ularly, gradually leaving it out drop by drop until 
you are giving none at all. When less than thirty 
drops a day are being given, Milk of Magnesia is 
not a physic, but is useful in making cow's milk less 
acid and more alkaline like mother's milk. The wax 
suppository and a fixed hour in the morning should 
be used in conjunction with the Milk of Magnesia. 
The magnesia makes the stool considerably lighter 
in color. Dark brown sugar used in place of the 
white is laxative. If this is tried, return to white 
sugar as soon as the bowels are regular. 



CHAPTER 47 

SORE MOUTH 

Sore mouth is frequently associated with an irritated 
stomach, but is also caused by neglect. 

Sore mouth is an inflammation of the mucous mem- 
brane of the mouth and tongue. When the mouth is 
in a healthy condition it is of a pale color, and the 
tongue is usually clean. If the mouth is sore it will 
appear red or real white, or flecked with white. For 
the first three or four months of a baby's life great 
care should be taken of the baby's mouth . It should 
be examined carefullv everv morning. 



150 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

The young* infant lias little or no saliva, and Avhat 
food is left in the mouth has nothing to wash it away. 
The fermentation of the food irritates the thin mem- 
brane of the mouth. Once or twice a day, a mother 
should very gently wipe out the baby's mouth with her 
little finger wrapped in gauze and dipped in boric acid 
solution. Gauze is better than cotton, as pieces of the 
cotton are sometimes left in the mouth. The following 
formula is good for the boric acid solution : One tea- 
spoonful of boric acid powder to one pint of boiled 
water and a teaspoonful of glycerine; or simply use 
warm water. Place baby on its side so that it will 
not swallow the moisture. Use no force. 

If the mouth is flecked with white, use the dry boric 
powder. Place a small pinch on the tongue, or wipe 
the dry powder across the end of the tongue twice a 
day and cleanse the mouth after each feeding with the 
boric solution. 

Have everything connected with the baby's feeding 
absolutely clean. When a baby with a sore mouth 
refuses the nipple because of the pain of sucking, make 
the hole larger. The hole can be enlarged by the use 
of a hot point of a common black or white-headed pin ; 
the thick head prevents burning the fingers. A hat pin 
is too large. Make the hole so baby may get its dinner 
without much sucking. 

When the mouth refuses to heal it may be due to an 
inflamed stomach. If baby is not thriving and is 
colicky, and the edge of the tongue is red, or the whole 
mouth is inflamed or red, it is a sure indication that 
the trouble lies in the stomach and no amount of care 
will heal the mouth when the fault is in the stomach. 
Heal first the stomach, and the mouth naturally will 
get well. Give the baby food it can digest and in each 
feeding put one-fourth of a teaspoonful of Bismuth 
Subnitrate. Smaller doses do not give quick results 
and often no results at all. Make the dose right and 
the bismuth will give the results. First warm a small 
feeding, moisten the bismuth, and put in the milk. 
Every few moments shake the bottle as it is impossible 
to dissolve bismuth. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 151 

A small feeding is suggested to make sure baby gets 
its full allowance of bismuth; then baby may have 
the balance of its regular feeding. Bismuth is perfectly 
harmless. It makes the stools dark or black as soon 
as it begins to take effect, otherwise it passes in the 
stool in a white powder. Give the bismuth until after 
the mouth becomes perfectly well. If baby's stool is 
dry and constipated, a few drops of magnesia may be 
given to counteract the constipating effects of the bis- 
muth. 

Baby O. was having a hard time digesting any food. 
His little stomach had naturally become inflamed by 
irritating foods. At last he was i)ut on a food which 
he digested perfectly, and gained two pounds in the 
first week. But there was still colic. His little life had 
been a continual round of trouble. His parents 
naturally thought when he was getting the only food 
that he had ever been able to digest, the colic would 
leave him. The edge of his tongue was red — the only 
sign of any irritation in the stomach except the colic. 

Bismuth subnitrate in ten grain doses was recom- 
mended and tried. In four days after the treatment 
began, the colic left him; he grew rosy and fat, free 
from pain and suffering. 

C H A P T E K 48 

ECZEMA 

Eczema, scurvy, rickets and meningitis are among 
the much dreaded results of indigestion and malnutri- 
tion. They do not take hold on the baby at once, but 
come gradually. 

Occasionally, however, eczema is caused by outside 
irritation, strong soap, or harsh wool in baby . gar- 
ments. Indigestion and the consequent acidity of the 
discharges or stools is often the cause of eczema. Chil- 
dren whose digestive tracts are irritated or have been 
irritated or inflamed will always have a breaking out 
on the skin afterward. Occasionally constipation will 
cause such a rash. A food which does not agree with 
baby ferments and the poison is absorbed hj the blood. 
This poison fills the system. The delicate, sensitive 



152 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

nature of a child's skin renders it susceptible to these 
disorders, and a breaking out of the skin is the result. 

Then, when a food is found to agree with the baby, 
the fermentation lessens, the stomach and intestines 
begin to tone up and acquire strength, and the proper 
food makes good, rich blood. This pure blood begins 
immediately to throw out the poison from the system, 
and as a usual thing the eczema will really seem to be 
worse. The mother should not be alarmed, for nature 
must work through the skin, till the poison is thrown 
out. Gradually the healthy, rich blood overcomes the 
poison and the complexion becomes clear. 

During life the skin, while undergoing reproduction 
and decay, as well as forming an outlet for all excre- 
tion of the system, is constantly throwing off from its 
external layer all useless matter. In the purification 
of the system, it is a well-known fact that a thousand 
times more impurities can be ejected from the system 
through the pores than by sltij other means. 

To cleanse the affected parts with oil has long been 
recommended but oil clogs up the pores and prevents 
the throwing oft' of impurities through the skin, and 
prevents ointments from having a good effect. 

Ointments will not cure cases of internal origin, but 
relieve the itching and have a very soothing effect, be- 
sides causing the skin to heal. Add lime water to 
baby's food, if artificially fed, and avoid orange juice, 
as there is already too much acid. 

Eczema has always yielded to the following treat- 
ment : The child is given Dennos Food, which is assim- 
ilated easily and builds up the body, throwing off 
all impurities. The skin is bathed daily with plenty 
of soap and warm water to wash away impurities and 
open the pores of the skin. Eesinol ointment which is 
very soothing and healing is applied twice or three 
times daily. A cure is always alfected. The breaking 
out of the eczema grew less until all the poison was 
thrown out of the system. There are cases of eczema 
with babies which nurse. Often the mother's kidneys 
are affected or she is troubled with too much acid — 
sour stomach and indigestion. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 153 



CHAPTER 49 

RICKETS BONE STARVATION 

There are mothers who will believe that a chapter 
on rickets would not concern them or their infants. 
Maybe so. No mother, however, knows what disease 
will take hold of her baby. It is through ignorance 
of symptoms and conditions that so much sickness and 
suffering are caused. 

Rickets is one of the most dreaded diseases of mal- 
nutrition. It is a disease of the bones, softening and 
deformities of the bones, enlargement of ends and thick- 
ening of the flatter bones. 

It is caused in some instances by the food. A child 
in order to build up every part properly has to have 
a food wherein every essential element is supplied. 
Often a child is fed too long on condensed or dried 
milk, or food which does not contain fresh, live cow's 
milk, and will suffer bone starvation or rickets, even 
when the body seems fat and healthy. The^ bones need 
a different kind of food to build them up, and to cause 
ossification or hardening. Rickets also may be pro- 
duced by a one-sided food, such a fresh cream diluted 
with water. 

Even the baby which is being suckled by its mother 
may develop rickets, yet the body will be fat and ap- 
pear healthy. The mother's milk will be rich in fat and 
sugar, yet lacking in bone-building material. Every 
mother should have her milk analyzed to be sure there 
is the necessary material in it. 

Babies often develop a good case of rickets while 
being fed on fresh cow's milk which contains every 
essential element for bone-building, but since it had 
not been properly treated to suit the baby's digestive 
organs, was so hard to digest and assimilate that the 
bones, blood and other parts of the body starved and 
its vitality and strength were lowered to such an extent 
that rickets resulted. 

Then there are many cases where certain cells along 
the digestive tract that are inactive or have been de- 



154 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

stroyed by lack of nourishment lose their selective 
power and are unable to choose the food they need. 
In that event the child will be rickety no matter what 
is fed. 

Premature children are very frequently rickety, as 
complete development had not taken place before birth. 
Some children are born with the foundation rickety, 
because the mother either w^as not able to supply suffi- 
cient bone material, or else dieted herself to have an 
easy childbirth. 

Rickets, although one of the most preventable of 
children's diseases, is yet one of the most common. At 
first the ordinary symptoms of defective assimilation 
appear and attention is not attracted to them until the 
characteristic changes occur in the bones. As rickets 
is the result of malnutrition, any disease which seri- 
ously interferes with the assimilative power and causes 
sufficient impairment of the general strength, may be 
follow^ed by rickets. Reduce the strength to a given 
point, and rickets begins. Prolong the state of debility 
sufficiently, and the characteristic changes resulting 
from the disease manifest themselves. Any cause, 
therefore, which will reduce the strength and vitality 
to this point lays the foundation of the disease; as in 
cases where the baby is only allowed certain small 
amounts which do neither satisfy or build up the hodj ; 
or in cases of prolonged diarrhoea with scant nourish- 
ment, which prolongs the weak condition of the child 
and causes rickets. 

One of the very first symptoms that the bones have 
not sufficient nourishment is a profuse sweating of the 
head and sometimes neck and upper part of the chest. 
The perspiration is extreme; it will be seen standing 
in large drops on the forehead and often running down 
the face, wetting the pillow. If the child falls asleep, 
the quantity is instanth^ increased. When the child 
awakes, the slightest exertion or excitement Avill renew 
it at once. While the head and neck are thus bathed 
in perspiration, the abdomen and lower limbs are 
usually dry and hot. 

Another characteristic symptom is the desire of the 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 155 

child to lie cool at night. In the coldest weather it 
will kick off the bedclothes or throw its limbs outside 
the covers. 

These two symptoms precede the deformities of the 
bones. There is another symptom which appears later 
and marks the beginning of morbid changes in the 
bones. In mild cases of rickets it is absent. This symp- 
tom is tenderness. Some mothers have thought that 
their infants had rheumatism; the child at first show- 
ing signs of uneasiness when handled carelessly, and 
as the tenderness increases, becomes peevish when 
touched and prefers to lie down or to sit quietly and 
will cry if its mother starts towards it for fear she will 
touch it. 

The symptoms of rickets very seldom appear before 
the fifth month, generally about the eighth month or 
between the eighth and eighteenth months. If treat- 
ment is at once begun, nutrition restored, growth and 
development recommenced, and health quickly brought 
back, the traces of rickets will disappear. On the other 
hand, if the general symptoms which precede the attack 
have been very severe, if the debility resulting from 
deficient nutrition is very great, the tenderness of the 
bones is a well-marked symptom. The softening 
usually preceded and is out of proportion to the en- 
largement of the ends of the bones. But if the symp- 
toms have been very mild, the tenderness of the bones 
may be altogether absent, and the affection of the bones 
be limited, at any rate, at first. 

The arrest of growth affects some bones more than 
others, being noticeable principally in the bones of the 
head and of the pelvis and lower limbs. As it affects 
the pelvis, the want of growth is very important, especi- 
ally with girls, from its influence upon child-bearing 
in after life. 

The ribs are usually first to be affected, beading at 
the ends of the ribs, then the enlargement of the ends 
of bones at wrists and ankles. Sometimes the ankle 
bones will show the first signs. The child will be slow 
in teething, and abnormal openings of the fontanelle 



156 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

^vill occur and will not close, frequenll}' until the child 
had reached its second year. 

The older the child when rickets first appear, the 
less likely is it to be affected early by softening of the 
l)ones; while if the child is very young, the bones will 
soften very quickly. The younger the child, the more 
likely it is to be affected profoundly by malnutrition, 
and the more severe will be the consequences. 

Many a baby suffering from malnutrition has had 
the first symptoms of rickets — head sweating — but has 
found a food in which fresh cow's milk was used, a food 
^vhich they could both digest and assimilate with ease. 
The}^ began to gain in flesh and after two or three 
months the head sweating ceased and there was no 
further symptom of rickets. The head sweating does 
not cease as soon as the proper food is found; but as 
soon as the bones are fed sufficiently all signs dis- 
appear. 

If a baby's stool is yellow and fresh cow's milk is 
given in its food, there will be no rickets, unless the 
child has been for some time on improper food so that 
the cells which take up the bone-building material be- 
<:ame inactive or were destroyed by continual irritation. 
All wise mothers will avoid condensed milk as a per- 
manent food, as well as dried milk; they will avoid 
a one-sided food as plain top milk and water; some 
whole milk must be used also. 

Good results have been obtained in overcoming 
Tickets by using a food which contains fresh cow's milk, 
^^here the curd or casein of the milk has been sub- 
divided into small enough particles to allow perfect 
digestion and assimilation. If the formula for prepar- 
ing the milk calls for heating of the milk, one-half tea- 
cupful of the raw milk should be left out and added 
to the food after it is prepared. 

One hour before feeding, diluted and sweetened 
orange juice with a half teaspoonful or a few drops of 
Tellow's Syrup of Hypophosphites in the orange juice, 
is excellent. If this makes the bowels too loose, lessen 
the dose, using less of the hypophosphites and orange 
juice and dilute with warm water. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 157 



C H A P T E E 50 

SCURVY 

SciirvT and rickets sometimes follow measles, whoop- 
ing cough, or scarlet fever. The first named goes hand 
in hand with rickets and bears a close relationship to 
that disease, although some children will have rickets 
with no sign of scurvy, while others will shoAV signs of 
scurvy and no symptoms of rickets. The cause is de- 
fective nutrition, the cells and tissues being starved 
because the blood is starved and cannot build up what 
nature has torn down. 

Scurvy is an occasional and important complication 
of rickets. The impoverishment of the blood to which 
these symptoms are due may be dependent upon the 
same conditions which produce rickets, but while 
rickets is an outcome of general malnutrition, scurvy 
is the result of the absence from the blood of some 
special constituent. If this constituent is supplied the 
child will remain free from scurvy, however imperfect 
may be the nutrition of the system generally. 

When scurvy occurs the disease appears most fre- 
quently in children fed on condensed milk, although 
in rare cases children being suckled and also fed on 
cow's milk which they were unable to digest and 
assimilate, have scurvy. 

In a child scurvy presents peculiar characteristics. 
The gums are not always affected. Sometimes the ends 
of the long bones become separated from the shaft. As 
a consequence there is extreme tenderness more extreme 
at the joints than in rickets. The limbs and ankle por- 
tions swell and are exceedingly tender. In many cases 
the child seems to suffer from constant pain. It will 
stretch out its limbs and lie in that position as if par- 
alyzed. When this stage is reached, the pain and 
tenderness diminish some degree. During the evening 
the temperature generally rises. 

Spots like bruises appear on the flesh, disappear and 
reappearing at some other point. In some cases the 
gums appear dark red and spongy, but this symptom 



158 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 



is absent in numerous cases. Children suffering from 
scurvy show an aversion to meat juice, or if old enough 
to eat adult food dislike fresh meat and vegetables. 

In overcoming this disease, excellent results are ob- 
tained by giving an easily assimilated food containing 
fresh milk. Orange juice and beef juice are essential. 
Give fresh raw beef juice three times a day at least 
two tablespoonfuls daily. (See "Directions for Beef 
Juice.") 

The youngest infant suffering from scurvy can read- 
ily take orange juice. Select a ripe orange, squeeze out 
the juice, strain through cheese cloth, dilute with an 
equal amount of water, sweeten and feed a few tea- 
spoonfuls one hour before each regular feeding of milk 
or food. 

If the child is eight months old or more, two tea- 
spoonfuls of mashed potatoes worked through a sieve 
to make sure no lumps are left, may be mixed into a 
regular feeding of its food twice daily. 



CHAPTER 51 

INFANTS^ GASTRIC CAPACITY 



f" 


■•9^^ 


•'^% 


^ 






(.. 


^^ 












Fed Starvation Amounts 



After 3 Months of Proper Feeding 



Who can resist the charm of a healthy, happy baby? 
How much it means to the mother to know that she is 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 159 

doing all she can to give lier baby a good start on the 
road to health ! 

The child is first of all a physical animal. Give its 
body a chance to express its needs. God has bestowed 
upon it the power to demand the food and exercise 
needed, and a child, if let alone, will respond to these 
demands in a perfectly natural manner. The trouble 
today is that man has come to the conclusion that he 
knows more about it than baby does — baby, who has 
only the natural instinct, w^hile man has brain and 
power of reasoning. The natural is set aside and the 
so-called scientific method of cut-and-dried way is sub- 
stituted. The result is that following along nature's 
laws baby of course either dies or becomes a weak, puny 
child. 

If baby is digesting its food propei^ly and is getting 
the required strength of food for its age, yet is hungry 
and is not satisfied after feeding and not gaining as it 
should, it is a pretty good indication that it is not 
getting enough for its bodily needs. A baby will not 
take more than it wants or needs. Baby's stomach 
was not meant for experimental purposes, neither was 
it made for starvation amounts, or continualh^ rested 
from a normal amount of work. 

It will be readily understood that fixed rules for 
exact feeding of each and every child cannot and should 
not be made, for circumstances alter cases. Stomachs 
differ somewhat in size ; some babies require more food . 
and more feedings than others. A larger framed child 
will naturally need more food than a small one. All 
set rules for feeding must be well-mixed with common 
sense. The baby is the best judge; generally it knows 
whether it is hungry or not. The old long-tried theory 
that to save baby it must be starved has been found a 
downright failure, for it either killed the child success- 
fully, or made it weak and puny, troubled with indi- 
gestion and intestinal trouble. 

There is a regular schedule for amount and time of 
feedings, suitable to some babies and utterly unsuited 
to others. All babies cannot be fed the cut-and-dried 
way. Feeding half enough makes neither strong stom- 



160 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

achs or healthy bodies. If the digestive organs are not 
built np properly the whole body suffers. Xo child 
can be strong when it is suffering from a weak stomach 
and resultant indigestion or other disease of the 
stomach and its associated organs. For when the 
stomach is weak there is a loss of the nutrition con- 
tained in food, the source of all strength. 

In infancy nature is taxed more than at any other 
time in life. When you starve the baby, you stunt some 
parts of the child. The foundation must be well-laid 
in order to have health and strength to make a strong 
and healthy man or woman, with power to resist dis- 
ease and fight life's battles. There must be the right 
nutritive elements in the right proportions and 
amounts to satisfy the appetite and needs of the 
rapidly growing body. 

Xature makes sensible regulations, and no mistakes. 
Human beings and different animals have appetite and 
gastric capacity suited to their needs and purposes. 
The cow and horse, for instance, eat and eat, when the 
opportunity is given, from morning until dark. The 
cow in the pasture is eating almost continually; the 
horse when worked is fed grain and hay, stronger food 
than if in pasture, because it is not given the oppor- 
tunity to eat grass continually. The animals' stomachs 
do not wear out. 

The heart, lungs, stomach and other organs were 
made for work. Death comes from much rest; life is 
not prolonged. If nature saw fit to put food in the 
digestive tract of the unborn child, why will man 
insist on starving just as soon as he can get the child 
in his grasp. Feed a baby the proper food in the 
amounts suited to its gastric capacity, and the abdo- 
men will be full rounded and firm. Xature will soon 
put on a layer of fat to protect and keep warm the 
delicate intestines. Baby will be happy, satisfied, and 
will make the gain which is so necessary. The stools 
will be full of substance; baby will sleep and prosper. 
There will not be scant urine, with chance for kidney 
trouble; but its urine will be copious so that it will 
almost drown itself. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 161 

Bab^' B's mother was iiuable to nurse her. Modified 
milk and different baby foods Avere tried. The baby 
daily grew thinner and weaker in spite of all scientific 
treatment. The family doctor said "Indigestion." All 
hope was given np. The good old doctor shook his head 
and said, ''I have done my best. I cannot save the 
child.'' The agonized father said, "^Well, if she is going 
to die, it is going to be with a full stomach." Night 
and day the poor, starving baby had pleaded with every 
atom of strength in its frail body for more food; food 
which had been denied the child of course for scientific 
reasons. 

Now^ the child was fed all it could eat of plain milk. 
It fell into a peaceful sleep and such a sleep it was! 
In about three hours she awoke, and demanded more 
food. The parents continued to fill the baby. The re- 
sult was that she lived, grew fat and well and finally 
grew into womanhood. 

Every atom of a baby's body must grow. Hair, nails, 
bone structure, muscles, tissues, etc., digestive organs, 
all have to grow and develop daily in order to be 
healthy and as nature intended. There is a demand 
in the little body for a gradual increase in quantity and 
quality — a certain amount of food just to sustain life. 
All above this is for repair of the natural waste, for 
strength, gain and growth. 

When two ounces is fed every two hours, the normal 
functions gradually cease working. The stomach and 
intestines gradually become paralyzed. Relaxation 
takes place ; the w^hole digestive tract loses its tone and 
becomes lifeless. Then, if more is fed and baby digests 
its food, hunger becomes so intense that the child will 
act more like a ravenous animal. The whole system 
wakes and demands food. The dried tissues begin to 
absorb life and strength. 

At birth the average gastric (stomach) capacity is 
from two to three ounces. The most rapid increase 
takes place during the first, second and third months 
of an infant's life, while in the fourth, fifth and sixth 
months the increase is slight. No mother can be suc- 
cessful in either breast or bottle feeding unless the 



162 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

demands of the cliild's body are met, both in quality 
and quantity. There should be the most rapid increase 
in quantity (amounts per feeding i offered the infant 
during the first six or eight weeks of its life ; then the 
same quantity up to the fifth or sixth month, unless 
the infant's appetite demands more. A considerable 
increase in the quantity needed, tisually takes place 
between the sixth and tenth months. 

The weight of an infant has an influence on the quan- 
tity and qtiality required. An infant weighing two and 
one-half pounds will often haye a gastric capacity of 
about two ounces, while an eight or ten i)ound child 
will demand two or three times that amount. A child's 
body is supposed to make the most rapid gain during 
the first three months of its life. Eyen if the body does 
not gain, the stomach makes its demands for larger 
amotmts of food in order to keep life and any strength 
in the body. 

The quality of the food, of strength of milk, has to be 
increased gradually also. If for any reason a baby did 
not make the necessary gain, more nearly does its con- 
dition resemble that of a newborn infant in its power 
of digesting and assimilating different articles of food. 
A mother has to begin all oyer again. 

As the little body gains in flesh and strength, the 
digestiye organs are also building up. The body shows 
the condition of these organs. A poorly-nourished 
infant has a more rayenous appetite than a well-fed 
infant, because the former is pulling up grade, and 
more food is needed than with the latter who is run- 
ning on a leyel. 

When the stomach is giyen rest for more than a few 
short hours, the body is bound to suffer. 

Dtiring the first week of an infant's life, there is 
generally a marked increase in gastric capacity. At 
the hour of birth an infant of ayerage weight will 
haye a capacity of two ounces, while in two or three 
days it will demand from three to three and one- 
half ounces and by the end of the week will often insist 
upon four ounces. Many babies when two months of 
age, will demand eight ounces. When a child is fed the 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 1G3 

proper food in aiuoiints to satisfy, his stomach will 
never be potgntted, as some fear. At anv rate, if baby 
is satisfied and happy and thrives, what is the differ- 
ence if his stomach appears a bit large? That will 
not harm him so much as being hnngry with the little 
body stnnted. Experiments have proven that if babv 
is fed all it wants from birth, its stomach will not be 
large, simply fnll and ronnded instead of flat, flabby 
and with the nsnal gaunt appearance. 

Some people Avho like to argue will say, increase the 
quality or strength of the food and baby will not want 
to eat so much or often. But if the increase in strength 
of milk or food is made too rapid, the child will have 
indigestion and malasimilation. An infant should have 
from four to five parts water to one part of whole milk 
during the first four or five days of life ; in one week's 
time three and one-half times water to one of milk; in 
two weeks three parts water to one of milk, on up to 
one month. (See "Directions for Increasing Food.") 

Cheap foods and easily-prepared foods for infant 
feeding should not be tolerated. If a mother has the 
welfare of her little one at heart, she should never 
consider the trouble, rather what is best for her child. 
Many mothers are not willing to spend thirty minutes 
a day preparing the food for their dear babies, but 
think it nothing to spend hours preparing food for the 
rest of the family. (See "True Substitutes," and "Milk 
as Infant Food.") 

Listen to what Dr. Woods Hutchinson says: 

^'A child's proper business is to grow, and to exercise 
his powers as fast as he gets them. This gives him an 
enormous appetite, Avhich causes more growth and 
again calls for more exercise of new-found powers. 

"Still abide th the trinity of growth — food, air, exer- 
cise, these three, and the greatest of these is food. Our 
little human locomotive must have fuel first, fuel last 
and fuel all the time. Xot merely what he needs to keep 
him running twenty-four hours out of the twenty-four, 
for he is the embodied secret of perpetual motion ; but 
enough to enable him to grow from a tiny donkey- 



164 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

engine into a great, six-foot wheeled, mountain-climb- 
ing Mogul. 

"The healthy child should eat, eat, EAT. The appe- 
tite of a healthy child is appalling. He is a walking 
famine, a hunger incarnate. All the grist that comes 
to his mill, and all hours of the day and night are alike 
to him. But he needs every ounce he will devour, and 
not one penny's worth of it will be wasted. Don't 
bother about the child. Just be sure his food is right, 
pure, sound and of the best quality, then let him go 
ahead. His wisdom is of the ages; yours, where it 
clashes with his is of the almanacs, of catechisms and 
copy-books, and of the silly chatter of the street and 
kitchen. If children were not born hungry and con- 
tinued so as long as they were growing, they would 
never grow up. 

"Youth is the period of growth; and if children are 
to enlarge their bodies, they must be supplied with an 
abundance of these materials out of which their bodies 
are built. The notion that the stomach requires a cer- 
tain definite interval of rest between tasks in order to 
get up its supply of gastric juice has been completely 
exploded, inasmuch as it has been found that the rest- 
ing and empty stomach contains no gastric juice what- 
ever, and it secretes none until food is actually put into 
it or smelled. In other words, it makes its gastric juice 
during the process of digestion, just as it is needed. 
The best, indeed the only, way to make the stomach 
secrete is to feed it, not rest it. 

"A healthy growing child is happy in most of his 
waking hours, and looks it." 

GASTRIC CAPACITY AND GROWTH 

Gastric capacity and appetite increase from the hour 
of birth until manhood or womanhood is reached. 
Nature never has been known to make mistakes, and 
knows when to build up and when to tear down, and 
how best to do it. Whenever this is to take place, the 
most rapidly, there is always a marked increase in gas- 
tric capacity. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 165 

Xature cannot build up without building material 
and plenty of it. There is a natural increase in appe- 
tite. 

Increase in gastric capacity and appetite is found in 
two very distinct periods in life. First, in infancy, 
when the foundation is being laid; second, Avhen the 
child is bordering on manhood or womanhood. 

In the latter period, a change takes place and the 
girl has become a woman, or the boy a man before the 
parents realize that such a change has taken place. 
This change commences to become noticeable at about 
twelve to fourteen years of age. This is the laziest pe- 
riod of a child's life. More food is needed and conse- 
quently more sleep. Xature is making rapid changes, 
sleep and rest are required, so that nature will have 
the opportunity to build up, for nature tears down 
during activity and builds up during sleep. 

There is not only the change taking place in the body, 
but in the disposition and attitude. Many parents will 
say, "What has come over the child." Obstinate, wilful 
and independent, the children not infrequently cause 
a breach with their parents. The children will say, 
"Our parents do not understand us.'' The parents will 
say, "We do not understand our child." 

At this time the boy or girl needs a steady, loving 
guiding hand. They do not understand themselves or 
the changes in disposition and body taking place. The 
growing body must not be stunted. The amazing appe- 
tite must be gratified. The limbs should be round and 
plump, as well as the average height. 

CORRECT SCHEDULE FOR FEEDING 

The amounts which are suggested in this schedule 
are suited to the average infant's increasing appetite 
and gastric capacity, and allow for the rapid gain 
which is so essential for the child's welfare. A baby's 
weight and frame work must be taken into considera- 
tion. Some babies may want more food than here sug- 
gested, others may not want as much. This schedule 
is suited to the average infant. 



166 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 



Inasmuch as the fastest increase takes place during 
the first months of life, the schedule of feeding covers 
them. 

The majority of babies wish to eat every one and one- 
half hours for the first month, then every two hours up 
to six months. They wish to eat three times approxi- 
mately during the night until one month old, then twice 
a night up to six months, then once a night up to eight 
months, and as a rule after that time they will not 
want to eat at night. 

SCHEDULE 



AGE 


Quantity 


Frequency 


Night Feedings 


1 week .... 


3 to 33^ ozs. 


Every 13^ hours. . 


When baby awakes. 


2 weeks... 


S}i to 4 ozs. 


Every 13^ hours. . 


When baby awakes. 


3 weeks. . . 


43^^ to 5 ozs. 


Every 1J4 hours. . 


When baby awakes. 


4 weeks . . . 


5 to 53^2 ozs. 


Every 13^ hours. . 


When baby awakes. 


5 weeks... 


53^ to 6 ozs. 


Every 2 hours 


When baby awakes. 


6 weeks . . . 


6 to 63^ ozs. 


Every 2 hours .... 


When baby awakes. 


7 weeks. . . 


6K; to 7 ozs. 


Every 2 hours. . . . 


When baby awakes. 


8 weeks... 


7 to 8 ozs. 


Every 2 hours 


When baby awakes. 



Never let baby go over three hours without eating, as 
long as it is on a liquid diet. Most children want to 
eat every four hours, after adult food takes the place 
of liquid food. As Dr. Woods Hutchinson says: "A 
child lives to eat and eats to live. Eating is a serious 
and conscientious business Avith him. Ele devotes a 
considerable share of his mind to it. And he is etern- 
ally and fundamentally right about it." 

Notice that in the feeding schedule during the first 
month baby should be fed every hour and one-half. The 
reason is that young babies become so ravenous and 
want to eat so fast if allowed to go two or three hours, 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 107 

that the results are not good. The little stomach will 
be more hampered with gas the longer it goes, and Avill 
prevent perfect digestion. The metabolic activity is so 
great the first month that frequent feeding is necessary. 



CHAPTER 52 

SUGAR AND SALT FOR BABY 

There have been so many notions and ideas regarding 
the use of sugar that the average mother is afraid to 
give her baby any in its food. She makes a great mis- 
take by withholding this valuable food. Dr. Hutch- 
inson says : "The most prominent role is played by 
sugar." 

The prejudice against this most valuable food for 
children is little better than a superstition and is 
rapidly disappearing. Instead of being a luxury and 
source of danger, it has been summed up bv Dr. Robert 
Hutchinson of London, one of the most competent and 
conservative world-experts upon diet, in the statement 
that "there haye*been few more important additions 
to our dietary, or which have done more to promote 
the health of the rising generation, than our cheap and 
abundant supply of pure sugar." 

Sugar is one of the principal foods for infants, and 
no infant will grow fat and be healthy without it. It 
furnishes the needed carbohydrate material to organ- 
isms that have as yet little or no power to digest 
starch. This sugar is a part of the natural food of the 
infant. 

During the process of digestion all starch is turned 
into a form of sugar for fat, heat and muscular power. 
A healthy child is very active, and nature intended a 
child should have an abundance of sugar. The pro- 
duction of animal heat is so very important a part of 
the infant's well-being that it is not surprising we 
should find so large a percentage of fat and sugar in 
the food which nature provided — mother's milk. The 
presence of sugar in human milk is not only for the 
purpose of nutrition but also as a means of maintain- 



168 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

ing the bodily heat. Sugar aids in digesting food and 
producing fat, and sugar and salt make food palatable 
and no babj can thrive on food which does not taste 
right. A food that tastes good is much more easily 
digested and assimilated than food which does not. A 
palatable food will cause a secretion of the digestive 
juices. Many artificially fed infants suffer from lack 
of sugar, especially when they are fed on cow's milk. 

As milk requires diluting even in its natural state, 
it is not nearly as sweet as mother's milk. Sugar of 
milk does not sweeten sufficiently, and often causes 
green stools. Sugar of milk never causes as satisfac- 
tory results ; it does not produce the heat or fat that is 
produced by cane sugar. Cane sugar is to be preferred, 
for it does not set up an excessive so-called lactic acid 
fermentation, as is supposed by some mothers. 

Baby H. was on a food which she digested perfectly. 
The proportion of milk was suitable for her age, but 
she gained very slowly and the mother was nearly dis- 
couraged. There was very little sugar used in prepar- 
ing the baby's food, as the mother had been told that 
sugar would ruin the baby's stomach. The mother was 
advised to add plenty of sugar just to see what the 
result would be. From the day that the right propor- 
tion of sugar was added, baby began to thrive Avonder- 
fully and soon was at the proper weight for her age 
and build. 

When sugar produces the heat absolutely necessary, 
the fat needed, and aids in digestion and nutrition of 
food, how can a stomach be injured by its use? With- 
out it there is a sugar starvation, for nothing can take 
the place of either sugar or salt in digesting food and 
in the well-being of our bodies, especially children, be- 
cause of their great activity. 

It is true that some preparatory baby foods contain 
too much sugar. But there is always a happy medium 
that is right. Baby's food should be made palatable 
if baby is expected to thrive, but not so much as to be 
sickening. Children may sometimes eat too much 
sugar and they may also stay too long in the bath-tub, 
or get a headache from playing too long in the sun. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 169 

but is that any reason why a child should be deprived 
of sweets, sunlight, or a bath? All that is needed is a 
little common sense regulation, but not prohibition. 

Most of the extraordinary craving for sugar and 
sweets is due to a state of artificial and abnormal 
sugar starvation, produced by an insufficient amount 
of this valuable food. Sugar is an essential thing, as 
we must have the proper constituents in our food as 
nature intended us to be perfectly healthy. 

Sugar and candy do not cause early decay of the 
teeth as supposed by many. The cause of early decay 
is insufficient nourishment during infancy, or some 
prenatal cause. The negroes of the West Indies who 
consume enormous amounts of sugar have the finest 
teeth in the world. Neither does sugar cause worms. 
In the West Indies the negro children are much af- 
flicted with worms when the sugar cane is not ripe; 
but this is caused by a crude vegetable diet. Their 
limbs come to be emaciated. But when the sugar 
canes become ripe, these children are always sucking 
the sweet juice of the cane, and it soon changes their 
appearance from emaciation to fatness ; the thin limbs 
become rounded; and if canes were always ripe, the 
children would never be wormy or diseased. 

A young baby which takes milk highly-diluted should 
have more sugar in its food than when it is eight 
months or older, as then the milk does not require 
so much diluting; and the natural sweetness of the 
milk requires less sugar. Up until six months of age 
it may be fed two teaspoonfuls (level) to one pint of 
diluted food. After six months a gradual diminish^ 
ing of the sugar may take place; and at eight months 
a teaspoonful and one-half of sugar to one pint of 
liquid is the proper proportion. 

SUGAR FOR ADULTS. 

It has been proven conclusively that a man can do 
more work, and that the gain in muscular power is 
greatly increased by the liberal use of sugar. In one 
experiment station, it was found that sugar delayed 
the natural coming of fatigue. The natural hour was 



170 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

between 5 and 7 p. m. If four ounces of sugar Avere 
taken before this hour, the ordinary fatigue did not 
appear, and work went on as usual. 

A very satisfactory test was made by Dr. Schum- 
berg with sugar. Dr. Schumberg says that '^^'The prac- 
tical conclusion to be drawn is that sugar in small 
doses is well adapted to help men perform extraordi- 
nary muscular labor." Following this work of Dr. 
Schumberg's came a practical test made with soldiers 
of the German army. The observation extended over 
thirty-eight days. Some were given sugar and some 
were not. The result was in every case to the advant- 
age of the men who had been given sugar. On long 
marches it appeased hunger; a feeling of refreshment 
followed, which helped the tired men on their way. 
The men who were allowed sugar were not at any time 
overcome with exhaustion ; their pulse rate and breath- 
ing were less affected than the men who had no sugar. 
On the basis of these results, the sugar ration for 
soldiers were raised, — -plenty of sugar being given 
for coffee, together with sweet food, preserves and 
honey. 

In times of great exertion or exhausting labor, the 
rapidity with which sugar is assimilated gives it cer- 
tain advantages over starch, which renders sugar 
available more rapidly for muscular force. This ac- 
counts for the fact that sugar is so relished by people 
who are doing muscular work, and by those of very 
active habits, such as children. Tests with sugar have 
been made by Holland with excellent results. Two 
school boys, seventeen and nineteen years of age, began 
training for rowing races. One boy ate plenty of sugar 
from the beginning. The other who did not have the 
sugar began the third week to sbow all the signs of 
overtraining — loss of weight and a heavy dull feeling, 
with no desire to study. On the third day after the 
taking of sugar himself these symptoms all disap- 
peared. At the time of the race both boys were in 
fine condition and were victorious over their antago- 
nists, who did not believe in sugar. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 171 

Sugar has been used very siiecesst'iilly in fatTeuing 
stock. 

SALT. 

MauY mothers do not realize the value of salt. 
Salt and sugar are indispensable to the artiticially-fed 
Infant. If baby's food is too sweet, add a little extra 
salt. If the food is too salty, add a little extra sugar. 
Salt is a necessary seasoning of our food, bringing out 
the flavor and making it palatable. 

In moderate quantities it promotes the appetite, 
assists the digestion and assimilation. In some dis- 
eases the moderate use of salt produces the etfect of a 
tonic. It acts as a stimulant to the mucous membrane, 
vessels and glands. It promotes digestion by giving 
greater tone to the digestive organs and secretion of 
some of the digestive fluids : and also aids in working 
oft' from the system its waste products. It is a valuable 
constituent of healthy blood. Xo infant can thrive 
and be perfectly healthy without sugar and salt. 

OTHER ARTICLES. 

Lime Water. When babies are fed artificially lime 
water should be added to the baby's food, especially 
during the summer months. Lime is an alkaline, yet 
constipating: if a few drops of milk of magnesia, 
which is also an alkaline, are added, the magnesia 
will overcome the constipating eftects of the lime. 
Lime and magnesia are useful for making cow's milk 
(which is more or less acidi. alkaline like human milk. 
Babies do not thrive so well when there is so much 
acid. Lime is essential in making bone, teeth, etc., and 
should be used moderately where the infant is fed 
artificially, as it helps to keep the stomach sweet and 
is of benefit where the baby is troubled with eczema. 

Magnesia is an alkaline and one or two drops in a 
feeding of food is good when baby is troubled with 
an abnormally sour stomach. If five or six drops of 
magnesia are given in each feeding of food ( after food 
is warmed for the bottle • . it will be found excellent 
in overcoming constipation. 



172 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

Soda. If a small loinch of baking soda or one-half 
of a soda mint is added to a feeding of milk (after the 
milk has been warmed for the bottle), it will be found 
excellent for sour stomach, and is perfectly harmless 
when there is an abnormal amount of acid in the baby's 
stomach, and especially during the hot summer months. 

Orange Jnice. In the digestive tract there is an 
acid secretion, also an alkaline secretion. In most 
children these secretions are normal, while in others 
there is an over-secretion or lack of some secretion. 
When there is a lack of the acid secretion, orange juice 
is of benefit, but if the secretion is normal, or there 
is an over-secretion, the strong acid of the orange juice 
will irritate and cause diarrhea troubles ; and in many 
cases eczema or breaking out of the skin. 

Orange juice should never be given a child until it 
is two years old, unless there is evidence of scurvy or 
rickets. Then it is a necessity. It should be strained, 
diluted and sweetened and given one hour before feed- 
ing the regular meal. 

CHAPTEK 53. 

THE CLIMB TO HEALTH. 

After baby has been poorly-nourished and the little 
body is run down and weak, there comes the climb to 
health, when proper food is fed in amounts to satisfy 
the baby, and to build up the weak body and organs. 
Every atom of its being has to be rebuilt; the blood 
must be purified and filled with substance before the 
starved tissues and cells can be revived. 

Baby will not be well in a day, for just as the tender 
body was pulled down little by little through starva- 
tion, so little by little it must be built up again. 

The first step is to clear the system of accumulated 
poisons. Castor oil is one of the best remedies for 
taking out all undigested food and mucous (See ''Direc- 
tions for Giving Castor Oil"). If the buttocks or 
mouth is sore, bismuth subnitrate must be given in 
each feeding after the oil has acted (See ''Bismuth 
Subnitrate") until baby is completely healed. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 173 

Kemember that the weaker the child, the more nearly 
does its condition resemble that of a new-born infant, 
in digesting and assimilating food. It makes no dif- 
ference Avhat the child's age is. When starting baby 
on a new food, one must begin on the weakest formula, 
and feed every hour and one-half, letting baby feed 
until satisfied, from six to ten ounces according to 
baby's age and weight. After baby has been on the 
weakest formula for about ten days, the food may be 
slowly strengthened. If cow's milk is used in prepar- 
ing the food, it may be strengthened by the addition 
of one teaspoonful of milk extra per day. 

By that is meant one teaspoonful extra the first day ; 
two teaspoonfuls the second day; three teaspoonfuls 
extra the third day; and so on. At the end of trs'O 
weeks there will be fourteen teaspoonfuls of milk extra. 
If the child is thriving and the added milk does not 
upset it, the strengthening may continue until it is 
receiving the strength of food required by its age. 

The idea of starting on a young baby's formula or 
on the weakest one instead of on heavier ones is not 
a starvation amount to rest the stomach, but a weak 
food suited to the weak stomach, one which it can 
handle and not overtax or fatigue the stomach. When 
the baby begins to build up, it will show that its 
stomach is growing stronger and able to take just a 
little heavier food. 

When extra milk is added, the proteid is of course 
increased; but by adding a small amount daily, its 
stomach is able to handle it. If half a teacupful was 
added at once, it would give so much work as to upset 
baby's stomach because of its suddenness and large 
amount of proteid. If baby weighs eight or ten pounds, 
one pint of milk and 234 pints of water in 21 hours, 
properly modified, — ^that is, the curd of the milk broken 
up or subdivided into small enough particles — will 
cause baby to gain from one-half pound to one pound 
in a week's time. But a baby weighing twelve or four- 
teen pounds would not gain except in strength until 
the milk was increased to one pint and one-half to 
2% points of water properly treated. 



174 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

After a feAv feedings of the easily-digested food have 
been given, nature begins to perform the simpler func- 
tions. The discolored passages begin to take on their 
natural yellow; the curds and green in the stool dis- 
appear. Although after the dose of oil, the first 
digested stool as a rule will be brown ; after that the 
stools should be yellow unless bismuth is given; then 
as soon as the bismuth acts the stool will be dark 
or black. The eager starving cells absorb nourishment, 
and part by part the whole organism arouses and takes 
on a new lease of life. 

Baby starts forward to health, slowly but surely and 
perceptibly. While the mother may not just at first 
see the improvement, yet the scales will prove that 
baby is gaining. First the weak digestive organs get 
strength and energy; the baby's whole body begins to 
show the effect of proper food. As the food is strength- 
ened, and the stomach becomes stronger and the blood 
is enriched, the gain in weight is faster and more 
uniform. Curves take the place of harsh, starved lines ; 
hollows grow rounded ; Avr inkles that looked so strange 
and unhuman on the baby's face vanish and tears 
change to smiles and bubbling laughter. The new rich 
blood brings color and glow to the skin ; and before 
many months the weight reaches a ^standard conform- 
able to the child's height and bone structure. 

If indigestion had taken the form of vomiting, the 
vomiting will become less and less as the muscles of 
the little stomach becomes strong enough to retain the 
food. (See "-Vomiting.") 

By weighing baby regularly each week, the mother 
can tell when to strengthen the food; and if baby's 
stomach can stand strengthening the milk. If baby 
has been months in a starved condition, it will take 
much longer to bring the stomach and intestines and 
bod}^ to a healthy condition; than with a baby which 
has only been poorly-nourished for a shorter period. 
A baby weighing fourteen pounds or more can stand 
strengthening much faster than a baby weighing less. 

It is wise to feed these babies often ; otherwise, if 
they go two or three hours, they gulp down their food 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 175 

SO fast as to cause vomiting; and it is not best to 
allow a child to become ravenous, any more than to 
permit adults to become so, because gas will hamper 
proper digestion. It must be remembered that when 
baby commences to gain in Aveight, that there is an 
increased activity in every organ of the body, cells 
and tissues. The blood is increased in quantity, cir- 
culation becomes stronger. There is an increased 
amount of heat. Many babies will naturally perspire 
more freely, and show signs of more life and activity. 
The hands and feet will become warmer. He will coo, 
laugh and twist his body about, kicking his feet. 

He will have a peaceful look instead of the alert or 
listless expression. 



CHAPTER 54. 

TEETHING. 

In early infanc}' the digestive organs are but par- 
tially formed. The glands required for digestive pro- 
cesses are but gradually prepared for their future 
work. While the infant is fed at the breast there 
are no requirements for either teeth or saliva; still the 
development of both must of necessity be well advanced 
towards completion before the period of weaning, else 
the child would not be in a condition to advance. The 
teething germs of both the milk teeth and the per- 
manent teeth are present in the jaw of every new-born 
child. The first trace of the future tooth is perceptible 
about the sixth week of intrauterine life. 

It requires proper food to make teething germs into 
good, strong teeth which will not decay quickly; and 
it requires nourishment to make them grow, or in many 
cases they will lie undeveloped in the jaw. Then when 
they do erupt, they are not strong, healthy teeth, but 
decay quickly and if the milk teeth are poor, the per- 
manent teeth will not be as good as they should be, for 
they too require proper nourishment from the begin- 
ning, being present at birth. 



176 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

A child well-nourished will cut teeth earlier than 
less fortunate babies. Some children naturally teethe 
earlier than others; some will walk and talk earlier 
than others. 

Drooling is one of the signs of approaching dentition. 
This begins frequently about the third month. The 
saliva is also supposed to soften the gums and the 
salivary glands are just starting towards a more com- 
plete development. 

Bibs should be worn and changed as soon as damp. 
A bib made of stork sheeting bound around the edges 
with tape and worn over the undershirt will prevent 
the chest from dampness. Teething children often 
have bronchitis, caused by the damp clothing next the 
chest. 

The teeth are deep seated, and in many cases develop 
slowly. The child therefore may be teething long be- 
fore any teeth appear. As the first trace of the future 
tooth is perceptible in the jaw of the foetus about the 
sixth week of intrauterine life, the child may be said 
to be teething then, as the teeth keep on developing 
up until the time of eruption. At the seventeenth Aveek 
of embryonic life, calcification of the dentine and 
enamel of the central incisors begins. At birth, cal- 
cification of the crowns of the incisors is complete and 
the roots begin to calcify. With the completion of the 
crown and calcification of the fang, the process of 
eruption begins. 

When a child is normal and has cut eight incisors 
(front teeth) it is a usual sign that the pancreatic 
secretion is fully developed. Delayed dentition is an 
indication of a late general development, — in many 
cases the result of rachitis or rickets. As a rule, in 
cases of protracted teething the interior fontanel closes 
later than the seventeenth month, the normal period 
and ossification of the bones is also delayed. 

Teeth that are cut late are frequently marked by 
imperfections of the enamel, lack density and decay 
early. The eruption of teeth is undoubtedly influenced 
by the state of the child's constitution and also by its 
nutrition. The average child cuts two lower teeth 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 177 

when it is six or seven months old; and four upper 
teeth before it is eleven months old. There are, how- 
ever, great differences both in time and order of teeth- 
ing. Sometimes the two upper teeth are cut first. A 
normal child should have all its twenty teentli when 
about two years old. 

ACTIONS OF A TEETHING BABY. 

Few children go through this teething period with- 
out fretfulness, loss of appetite, slight fever, attacks 
of vomiting, and diarrhea. These pass away in a few 
days to appear later until the teeth erupt. 

Baby will often lose in weight in the beginning of 
the teething period, then gain steadily most of the 
time. A teething child may have convulsions when 
there has been a depression in the nutrition. Eickety 
children are liable to convulsions. Often a teething 
child will sleep with eyes partly opened and eyeballs 
rolled. 

It must be remembered that during dentition the 
whole organism is in a state of active development, 
and that the nervous system has not acquired the 
equilibrium of an adult ; and the infant Avill be peevish 
and irritable, and very restless at night, as well as 
hard to please. These attacks will sometimes last two 
weeks. Just before the jaw teeth erupt the gums are 
broadened. Frequently a child will cut 6 or 8 front 
teeth, then cut several jaw teeth, before any more 
front teeth erupt. 

LOSS OF APPETITE. 

There are very few babies who do not lose their 
appetite for a few days or weeks, especially if several 
teeth are coming through at once. The teething jaws 
ache and the baby does not feel like eating. Baby 
should not be forced to eat beyond its inclination, 
but the feeding period should be regular and no un- 
easiness should be felt, for baby will eat when it 
wants to. 

Offer a drink of water often, as the little mouth is 
dry and feverish. Teething babies often lose their 
appetite during the month of August, dog-days. Most 



178 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

adults do not feel like eating themselves ; and a baby 
will sometimes go twenty-four hours on one bottle of 
milk. 

Mrs. I had twin girls about one year old, and of 
course they were teething. During August it was very 
warm and the babies did not wish to eat. The mother 
decided they were tired of the food, which they had 
thrived on, and was worried because neither wished 
to eat. There was also a slight attach of diarrhea, 
so she changed food. The babies ate some better for 
a few days, but they did not digest the food she was 
giving, and the diarrhea grew worse. The twins were 
changed from one food to another, until it became 
necessary to call a physician. They grew steadily 
worse, and finally both died. 

URINE. 

The urine of a baby is generally affected during 
teething period because of the great activity of the 
whole digestive tract and the throwing off of impuri 
ties. Often baby does not eat as much liquid as usual, 
and the urine consequently becomes more concentrated 
and hence stronger. 

Offer baby water frequently. 

The urine generally has a very strong odor of am- 
monia, especially after baby has lain in the same 
napkins over night. All urine has ammonia but it is 
not noticeable execept in animals. 

The ammonia will sometimes be so strong as to cause 
soreness about the genital organs. Wash the buttocks 
well with warm water and soap, dry gently, and grease 
with cocoa butter. Also grease the buttocks well be- 
fore putting baby to sleep at night. This will in a 
large measure prevent any soreness, and the trouble 
will pass when the teeth are cut. 

The baby should not be allowed to lie or sit Avith 
wet napkins on. 

By using lime water and a drop or two of milk of 
magnesia, the trouble is relieved. This small amount 
of magnesia will not affect the bowels, but will help 
the lime water to overcome aciditv. It has been found 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 179 

that by using one-half of a soda mint in each feeding 
during the summer months, the acidity of cow's milk 
or other foods may be overcome. Avoid fruit juice and 
orange juice, when there are indications of much acid. 

TEETHING DIARRHEA. 

During the period of dentition, the changes going 
on in the digestive tract render it very easy for the 
baby to fall ill with intestinal disorders. The diges- 
tive organs are undergoing an active state of develop- 
ment; the bowels are in a state of irritability and are 
ripe for diarrhea. Looseness of the bowels is more 
common in summer and autumn than winter. Some 
children are said to cut their teeth Avith diarrhea. 
The diarrhea is attributed to the swallowing of large 
amounts of saliva. The salts contained in the saliva 
act as a mild laxative. 

Because diarrhea is common Avith teething children, 
no wise mother will overlook the trouble even for a day. 
If castor oil is given as suggested (See "Castor Oil"), 
the diarrhea will be checked in the beginning, whereas 
if allowed to go on serious trouble will be a natural 
result. (See "Summer Complaint.") 

THE SKIN. 

The delicate, sensitive nature of a child's skin renders 
it susceptible to disorders from slight irritations along 
the digestive tract, which generally accompany teething. 

Oftimes the skin will be dry; and again there will 
be a teething rash about the chin or mouth, sometimes 
on the body. Hives are very common among teething 
children, sometimes a mild eczema. 

SHEDDING THE TEETH. 

The milk teeth are twenty in number and are known 
as temporary deciduous or milk teeth. The permanent 
teeth when cut are thirty-two. A child begins to cut 
some of the permanent teeth at about six years of age. 
Some of the jaw teeth come through and these do not 
replace any oi the milk teeth. Mothers should watch 
the teeth more carefullv after this time to be sure none 



180 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

of the new permanent teeth deca}' and are kept free 
from tartar. 

Ordinarily the permanent teeth erupt at the follow- 
ing periods, the teeth of the lower jaw preceding those 
of the upper: sixth year, first molars; seventh year, 
central incisors; eighth year, lateral incisors; tenth 
year, first bicuspids; eleventh year; second bicuspids; 
twelfth to thirteenth year, canines ; twelfth to fifteenth 
year, second molars; seventeenth to twenty-first year, 
wisdom teeth. The milk teeth drop out or loosen in 
about the same order as they appeared. This is caused 
by the widening of the jaw, making room for the erup- 
tion of the permanent teeth. 

Some have believed that the permanent teeth pushed 
out the milk teeth. But often the milk tooth will be 
out two months and sometimes longer before the per- 
manent tooth appears; and there will be noticed a 
distinct widening of the jaw and often a spreading 
apart of the milk teeth, leaving spaces between them 
where formerly they were close together. A child be- 
gins to shed the milk teeth at about five or six years 
of age, and is very liable to indigestion and other 
troubles. 

Mothers should use much wisdom and care in the 
child's diet at this period, as the child finds more or 
less difiiculty in masticating properly the food. 
Farina, cream of wheat, eggs or meat which has been 
previously chopped or ground, or any easily-masticated 
and easily digested food and milk should be given. 



CHAP TEE 55. 

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER. 

Do not let the milk stand in the hot kitchen or on 
a sunny porch. Take it in the moment it is left and 
stand it in a deep pan of cold water. Cover with 
damp muslin, letting the ends of the muslin reach 
the water; or place the milk in a refrigerator until the 
exact time comes to prepare it for baby. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 181 

Do not test the temperature of baby's food after it 
is in the nursiug bottle, by putting the nipple in your 
own mouth; but pour a little out in a teaspoon. 

Do not use a long nipple that discharges baby's food 
down his throat, but one that will discharge the food 
into his mouth. Be sure the hole in the nipple is large 
enough. The hole can be made larger by heating the 
point of a small size black or white headed pin, or by 
using a hot needle. Miller's non-collapsible nipples are 
perfectly satisfactory and can be obtained from Miller 
Eubber Company, Akron, Ohio, if your druggist does 
not have them. 

Do not let baby use the nipple until it gets very 
large and soft; or baby will often refuse to take a new 
one, because of its being smaller and firmer than the 
discarded one. 

Do not forget to give baby a teaspoonful of cool 
water, not ice water, several times a day after baby 
is five months old. Milk does not allay thirst, and 
during teething the little mouth is often dry and fever- 
ish. A few ounces of warm, salt water is excellent 
for constipation. Water is essential in fever, to help 
make up the supply, as the system is much drained at 
this time and the kidneys do not act freely because of 
the lack of water supply. Many mothers will not think 
of offering water to a feverish baby. However, a baby 
will take water eagerly during a fever. 

During hot weather if baby is sponged off before 
being put to bed at night, he will feel much refreshed 
and sleep better. 

Do not let the strong sunlight shine on baby's un- 
protected head or in his eyes. Defective eyesight is 
frequently caused by the eyes not being protected 
properly in infancy. 

Do not wean a child just before or during hot 
weather. 

Kemember that the starved tissues of an underfed 
infant have to be fed and before a baby will gain, that 
healthy flesh will get firm before it gets fat; and that 
the scales will show an increase before vou can see one. 



182 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

When baby stops gaining, feed oftener or increase the 
strength of food. 

Eemember that nature builds up during sleep and 
tears down during activity; and no baby can build 
up on an empty stomach. Feed baby when he asks 
for it at night. The appetite of the young is guided 
by a very safe instinct. "Heathen races have fre- 
quently sanctioned infanticide; Chi^istian nations tor- 
ture their children slowly to death." — Bange. There 
are thousands of starved and tortured babies, one 
might say none that are overfed; as a child will not 
eat more than it wants. 

Do not neglect to weigh baby every week so you 
will know if it is thriving. 

Eemember that if a child is not receiving enough 
nourishment the stools or passages will be scant and 
thin. This shows that the child is scarcely getting 
enough to keep it alive, let alone to grow and develop. 

Do not warm baby's milk in the bottle. The com- 
paratively slow process may permit it to sour. Heat 
quickly in another vessel, then pour into baby's bottle. 
Taste the milk before offering it to baby to see if it 
is sweet. 

Eemember if baby's bowels are moving four or five 
times a day there will be undigested food in the stools, 
as the food is not retained long enough in the intestines 
to digest properly. 

Do not forget to add salt and lime water to baby's 
food, or neglect to let him have an abundance of fresh 
air. 

Do not have baby's band so tight he cannot breathe 
well, or as to cause him to vomit. 

Do not let baby suck a pacifier to cause a constant 
stimulation of salivary glands and digestive juices, 
thence indigestion ; besides causing adenoids, or making 
the mouth sore. Feed all baby wants and the pacifier 
will not be needed. 

Do not give baby money to bite on, unless the coin 
has first been well-scoured. 

Do not let baby wear a wet bib, or lie in wet napkins. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 183 

Do not think every time baby cries it lias the colic. 
There is more often hunger than colic. 

Do not forget to care for baby's mouth. 

Do not lay baby down unprotected from flies. 

Do not feed baby milk of one cow if you can get 
milk from a mixed herd, as the acid varies so much 
in one cow's milk that some days baby will vomit or 
have a diarrhea even if usually the milk is all right. 

Remember warm salt water relieves colic. 

Eemember that too long intervals between feedings 
cause baby to vomit or have colic. 

Remember that when cows get their first green grass 
in the spring, baby (if using milk) will have a diarrhea 
for two or three weeks, until both the cows and baby 
get used to the change. 

Orange juice should not be given baby, except in 
cases of rickets and scurvy, until baby is two years old. 

Premature babies are slow in teething, and remem- 
ber that care must be taken lest they have rickets. 

Remember that Pond's Extract of Witch Hazel^ 
diluted half and half, cures sore ejes. 

Remember that a continued use of enemas of water 
will cause paralysis of the bowels. If the child is 
taught regularity, it will never be troubled with con- 
stipation. 

Remember that dirt eating is a sign that lime is 
lacking in the system. 

As the body grows in flesh, the stomach will grow 
in strength, and the walls of the abdomen in thickness. 

When baby is receiving enough nourishment, the 
stomach will be rounded, full and firm. The pas- 
sages will be filled Avith substance. 

When baby is receiving insufiicient nourishment, the 
walls of the abdomen will be thin, lank and flabby, 
the stools scant and thin, often apparently constipated. 

A young baby's mouth must be washed at least 
three times a day, or there will be sore mouth. 

A baby which has had an irritation in either stomach 
or intestines will have a breaking out on the skin 
afterward. 



184 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

Diarrhea never ceases until the cause is removed 
and the irritation healed. 

A cold water pack or compress on the chest will 
relieve or stop coughing, will relieve congested lungs 
and cure croup. 

When the child is weaned by the sign of the zodiac 
when the sign is at the thigh, there will be very little 
trouble. 

A baby always has more gas in the stomach and in- 
testines in the early weeks of life than at any other 
time. 

Babies that have had either breast milk or sweetened 
condensed milk generally require sweeter food before 
they will relish it. 

Feeding baby food or milk too warm will cause it 
to have diarrhea and indigestion. Hand-fed calves if 
fed milk too warm will have what is called scours 
(diarrhea) ; and if the practice is kept up the calves 
will die. How much more tender is the baby's stomach 
than that of a calf? 

Baby's gaining depends largely upon the grade of 
milk used. Milk poor in fat (cream) will prevent 
baby's gaining. 

Never take the baby from the breast during the day 
and reserve the milk for the night nursing only; as 
many a baby has been made sick by so doing. 

Mothers must remember that the diseases of mal- 
nutrition do not come in a day or week, neither does 
any disease take hold on the body in twenty-four hours. 
Even when the disease germs are injected directly into 
the blood, the results never manifest themselves for 
several days. Diseases enter the body through the 
blood. 

Kemember when one member of the body suffers the 
whole body suffers with it. Nature meant for every- 
thing to work in perfect unity and harmony. 

Young mothers do not always know that baby must 
be turned regularly, first on the right side, then on 
the left, otherwise baby's head will grow one-sided, 
as the bones are soft. 

A baby does not require much water until five or 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 185 

six mouths old, and the giving of water to baby in 
its bottle between meals often causes trouble (See 
^'Ignorance''). 

Remember a baby's stomach is built up by degrees 
and not by leaps and jumps. Strengthen baby's food 
by adding small portions daily until the required 
strength is reached. If too rapid advancement is 
made baby will stop gaining or have an attack of in- 
digestion. 

Do not keep baby's food warm between meals by 
wrapping the bottle or by any patent device whatever. 
The warm milk will sour quickly or be unfit for baby's 
use, when kept at a warm temperature, whether winter 
or summer. Milk must be kept cold. 

Remeniher that when a baby which has been a suf- 
ferer from indigestion and is poor and thin, then he 
is put on a food which he digests perfectly and com- 
mences to gain in weight, that there is naturally an 
increaseed activity in every cell, tissue and organ of 
his body, hence he naturally desires more food and 
more frequent feedings than otherwise, because he can 
dispose of it more quickly. His blood is also being 
purified, the impurities are being thrown out through 
the skin. His blood is also increasing in quantity 
(amount) and he will often perspire very freely, be- 
cause of the increased amount of heat in his body and 
because of the stronger circulation. A strong stomach 
passes the gases into the intestines, the natural way. 
A icea'k stomach causes the gas to be belched. 



CHAPTER 56. 

^^PATENTED^^ BABY FOODS AND MEDICINES. 

There has been so much written and said on the 
subject of patented medicine and baby food that many 
mothers have become prejudiced against them, being 
ignorant of what constitutes a patent. They would 
rather let baby die than even try a prepared baby food, 
or any preparatory medicine, simply because it happens 
to be "patented." 



186 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

EverYtliing of any merit is patented. The auto- 
mobile, sewing machine, flying machine, baby buggy, 
range, and some of our most useful things used in the 
house and especially in the kitchen are patented 
articles. If the American people were to cut from use 
every patented article, it would take from them their 
most useful labor-saving devices. 

A patent does not influence results or merit. If a 
thing is good, it is good whether patented or not. A 
patent is issued by the government as a reward as well 
as for the protection of the person originating the idea. 
The patent gives to the originator the exclusive right 
to manufacture and sell the article for eighteen years. 

If this protection was not furnished, we would make 
little advancement, for men would not give their time 
and money to manufacture useful and valuable articles 
if every one could have the same privileges with some- 
thing another had originated. 

Physicians and chemists in their practice and ex- 
periments have found certain prescriptions which gave 
such satisfactory results that for the sake of humanity 
and to reach the people, a thing they could not do 
personally, had their prescriptions patented and placed 
within reach of all. But because some got rich, others 
had a kick coming. Many of the medicines had genuine 
merit and gave satisfactory results and because of this 
fact, fakirs for the sake of their pocketbooks placed 
remedies on market of absolutely no value. 

Some persons for objects of their own began a raid 
on patented medicines and foods. The bad ones were 
advertised and all patented medicines and foods, both 
good and bad, were thrown out, so to speak. The ones 
which had merit were of course placed under the ban. 

There are many patented baby foods on the market 
which have saved the lives of countless infants Avhen 
mother's milk and modified milk failed to be digested- 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 187 



CHAPTER 57. 

TESTING PREPARED FOOD AND COW'S MILK. 

It is claimed that a chemical analysis of mother's 
milk may be accurately reproduced by using a certain 
per cent of top milk, bottom milk, lime water and 
sugar of milk. This is true. But while this may 
imitate the chemical analysis, there still remains the 
same old obstacle, the natural action of the cow's milk, 
which is to form in dense curds, even if the chemical 
analysis is correct. Accordingh^, to state that this 
mode of modification is a real substitute for mother's 
milk is not to say the truth ; for if baby cannot digest 
the treated milk, the chemical analysis will have no 
effect so far as baby's stomach is concerned. 

In some sections of the United States the physicians 
have turned down all brands of baby foods, saying that 
they do not do what is claimed for them. The result 
is that the death rate among the young children is in- 
creasing at an alarming rate in those sections. 

The blame is laid on mother's ignorance, which is 
true to a certain extent; but in the large majority 
of cases, if the mother had been permitted to try some 
of these different brands of baby foods, her baby would 
have lived. Any baby which cannot digest modified 
milk will die naturally of indigestion, malnutrition or 
marasmus, which is all the same thing. 

It has been proven beyond a doubt that many of 
these foods have saved the lives of babies, when they 
lay weak, exhausted and dying. Then why turn down 
what has saved the lives of thousands and thousands 
of our babies where modified milk has failed? 

It is true that there may be some experimenting 
to find the food which will subdivide the curd of cow's 
milk so the baby can digest it. But does it not take 
many weeks sometimes to find the proportion of top 
milk, etc., that will agree with baby? 

Any mother can test cow's milk or any baby food 
herself in the following manner : 

Take two ounces of plain, straight milk; put on the 



188 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

stove to warm; wlieu it gets to 100" or a little warmer 
than blood heat, remove from the stove and add one 
teaspoonfnl of Fairchild's Essence of Pepsin ; stir con- 
stantly to imitate the peristaltic movement of the 
stomach which mixes the food together ; soon the curd 
or casein of the milk will separate and there will be 
large tongh curds. 

(Any mother can see the diflQculty that the baby's 
frail, tender stomach encountered when it met and 
tried to dissolve that tough mass so it could be as- 
similated; and how digestion is prolonged and the 
stomach taxed to the uttermost.) 

Two ounces of modified milk may be tested in like 
manner. The curds are not quite so tough and obsti- 
nate, but still they are large and heavier than baby's 
stomach was meant to handle by nature. 

If Dennos Food is made up according to directions, 
take two ounces of the prepared food and treat as 
above with the pepsin and stir. Xo curds will be 
found, rather a fine granulation of tiny minute par- 
ticles, the food remaining uniform just as it does in 
the baby's stomach. For that reason every baby will 
digest and assimilate Dennos, no matter how weak 
and rundown the stomach may be. 

The reason there are so many brands of baby foods 
is that some of them when added to cow's milk divide 
the curd into smaller particles than do others; and 
for that reason one food will agree with one baby while 
another will agree with some other baby. The food 
happens to subdivide the curd small enough so that it 
is suited to that particular baby's stomach. 

Eagle Brand has agreed with so many babies be- 
cause the large amount of cane sugar divides the curd 
of the cow's milk into smaller curds than some of the 
other brands of baby food. But the large percentage 
of sugar is not good for baby as the amount of sweet 
is out of proportion to what a baby should have to be 
healthy; and so the flesh of the child is fat and flabby; 
and the process the milk is put through destroys cer- 
tain essential elements of the cow's milk which baby 
should have. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 189 

A perfectly healthy child will have hard, firm, solid 
flesh. There is no flabby fat, pale-looking child who 
is perfectly healthy. Whenever Eagle Brand is used, 
always add a pinch of salt which will take away to 
an extent the sickening sweet taste; also add some 
lime water and a small portion of cream, as the con- 
densed milk is deficient in cream. Likewise add a 
small portion of fresh cow's milk during cool weather 
if baby can digest it. 

In using any food, do not strengthen by adding large 
amounts at once; but do it gradually and slowly. 

Some mothers will say, "My baby did finely on a 
certain food until I strengthened it, then it did not 
agree any more." The trouble was that they did not 
strengthen it right, or went too fast. A baby's stom- 
ach is built up by degrees and not by leaps and jumps. 



CHAPTER 58. 

MODIFICATION OP MILK. 

The original unchanged milk is known as plain milk, 
whole milk, or straight milk. 

The modification of cow's milk consists of a regulated 
process whereby a portion of top milk is diluted with 
boiled and cooled water and other substances. The 
process follows : A quart bottle of milk is stood in 
an ice box or pan of cold water for four hours (at 
dairies two hours) and then a certain portion of the 
top is removed by means of a siphon or a small one- 
ounce cream dipper. The strength of the top milk is 
measured by the fat it contains. The amount of fat 
depends upon the proportion of milk removed, and 
is called a per cent milk. To obtain a 7 per cent fat 
the upper 16 ounces are removed ; to obtain a 6 per cent 
fat, the upper 20 ounces; to obtain a 5 per cent the 
upper twenty-four ounces. A certain portion of this 
top milk is taken and diluted with boiled and cooled 
water, a certain portion of lime water and either plain 
sugar or sugar of milk is added and it is then called 
modified milk. 



190 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

This modification of cow's milk is regulated so as 
to resemble mother's milk in chemical analysis, which 
of course it does; but a chemical analysis and the 
natural action of cow's milk and mother's milk are 
different. However modified by top milk, lime water 
and sugar of milk, the curd of the coav's milk is tough 
unless otherwise broken or subdivided. Young infants 
and weakly children are generally started out on the 
10 per cent milk. 

To obtain 10 per cent top milk or fat, let the milk 
bottle or jar stand in cold water from two to four 
hours, two hours if bottled at a dairy and four hours 
if bottled at home or one has one's own coavs. Then 
remove the upper ten ounces and dilute as follows : to 
30 ounces of boiled and cooled water add 3 ounces of 
the 10 per cent milk, one ounce of lime water and one 
and one-half ounces of sugar. If this agrees with the 
baby, increase the milk part in a few days by adding 
from one to two teaspoonfuls of the 10 per cent milk. 
Keep increasing the milk part slowly and as the child 
gains. Gradually substitute the different percentages 
of milk, for instance, gradually remove more from the 
top of the milk each day. Let the seven per cent milk 
take the place of the ten per cent milk, then six per cent, 
and so on until the full straight milk is used when the 
child is one year old. 

When a child is two months of age, one pint of 6 
per cent milk to 2% pints of water, i/4 teaspoonful of 
salt to 4 teaspoonfuls of sugar, and two ounces of lime 
water. At three months, two pints of 6 per cent milk 
to 2% pints of water, with sugar, salt and lime water. 

At five months, 2i/^ pints of 5 per cent milk to 2% 
pints of water. At 6 months, use whole milk, three 
pints to three pints of water. After six months gradu- 
ally decrease the water one-half pint for each month. 
This will allow the child to be on the full whole milk 
at the age of one year. 

In the early days be cautious about the rate you in- 
crease the milk part. If you have your milk too strong, 
the baby will not gain. Make all increases gradually; 
do not jump from one formula to another. Increase 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 191 

by adding- one to three teaspoonfuls of milk extra each 
da}', that is to say, three teaspoonfiils of milk today, 
six teaspoonfuls the next day, and nine the next, etc. 

Cow's milk is subject to considerable variations in 
composition. The age of the animal also has consider- 
able influence, young cows producing richer milk than 
the older ones of the same kind. A well-fed cow gives 
a better constituted milk than a poorly fed. 

The milk flow of a cow is usually largest soon after 
calving. It is more watery and has not so much solids 
or proteid. As the period of lactation progresses the 
milk flow gradually falls ofi", and as a rule the propor- 
tion of solids increases. A cow's milk is very rich in 
cream when it is going dry, and will cause indigestion, 
diarrhea and often vomiting. The milk varies from 
day to day and from milking to milking. On account 
of these variations, one cow's milk should not be given 
a baby. Some cows have milk with more acid than 
others ; some milk will cause diarrhea while others will 
bring about constipation. 

Cooked milk, or milk that has just been brought to 
a boil, coagulates less rapidly than raw milk and is 
much easier digested than raw milk, as well as less 
liable to cause diarrhea. 

Cows should not be allowed to eat weeds or be fed 
barley or oil-meal if the milk is intended for a child's 
use, as either will cause diarrhea and vomiting. When 
cows are first turned out to green grass, in the spring 
of the year, they will have what is called scours or 
mild diarrhea or some looseness of the bowels for two 
or three weeks ; but as soon as they become accustomed 
to the grass, it will cease. Babies at this time will also 
have a looseness of the bowels because of the milk, 
but by the use of castor oil and bismuth as elsewhere 
directed, the difficulty is soon overcome. The milk from 
a cow which has not been fresh for a long time is unflt 
for use; it grows stale and old without souring. 

CERTIFIED MILK. 

Certified milk is milk with a certificate, and usage 
decrees that the certificate must come from a medical 



192 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

milk commission. Certified milk may be of any 
quality, provided it has the certificate of a medical 
milk commission. The presumption is that certified 
milk is high grade, but high grade milk is not always 
certified milk, for the producer of the highest quality 
may have reasons of his own why he does not care to 
have it certified; or he may be doing business where 
there is no medical milk commission, and hence cannot 
get his product certified. 



CHAPTER 59. 

MILK AS A CURE FOR DISEASE. 

So much has been written on the use of milk both 
as a preventative and as a cure for disease that it is 
but proper to say it ought to enter into our daily 
food to a great extent. In cases of typhoid fever, and 
diarrhea, also as a preventative for accidental and other 
poisonings, including lead and painters', it has been 
used with great success. Physicians generally now 
recommend it as a safe and reliable article in the lists 
of remedies. 

Milk should be drunk warm either in cases of dis- 
ease or for building up the body ; and it is also well to 
add some lime-water, an ounce and one-half to the 
quart. A stomach irritated by improper food, in- 
flamed by alcohol, enfeebled by disease or otherwise 
unfitted for its duties, as shown by the various symp- 
toms attendant upon indigestion, dyspepsia, tubercu- 
losis, diarrhea and fever, will resume its work on an 
exclusive diet of lime water and milk properly treated. 

In milk all the elements of nutrition are so pre- 
pared by nature as to be readily adapted to the infant 
or adult stomach; and so freighted Avith healing vir- 
tues as to work a cure where drugs are worse than 
useless. Nevertheless, so many adults have been un- 
able to take straight cows' milk that heretofore the 
great problem has been the adapting of the healing, 
life-giving milk to the infant or adult stomach. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 193 

This problem has been solved through the Avide use 
of Denuos Food. As Deunos is rich in phosphates 
and a peculiar body called Cerealin, which has the 
property of changing animal starches or otherwise into 
dextrin to be quickly assimilated, it becomes a perfect 
food, adding strengthing qualities to the milk and 
building material to the body. Xothing ever yet dis- 
covered is equal to it, and it has been declared a boon 
and blessing to the human race. 



CHAPTER 60. 

MILK AS A FOOD FOR IXFAXTS. 

An adult is obliged to eat a variety of food to get 
the different elements to make up his body. An infant 
gets all these elements in properly prepared "cow's 
milk.'- 

Milk is essentially the food nature requires for the 
proper growth of an infant. 

A careful study of the constituents of milk and the 
natural requirements of a young child soon will con- 
vince even the most skeptical that no ready baby food 
which does not contain fresh milk can possibly take the 
place of food, live cow's milk when properly prepared 
so the baby can digest and assimilate it without wear- 
ing out the frail stomach. 

The child requires the proteid, or what is commonly 
known as the solids, casein or curd of cow's milk to 
make blood, muscle, and to build up rapidly the cells 
and organs of the body. It imparts life and strength 
and gives the child good resisting power against dis- 
ease. All animals begin life as pure meat-eaters, de- 
votirers of liquid flesh (milk), and the child to be per- 
fect is no exception to the rule. The solid part of the 
milk or curd consists of about one part proteid or 
protein (meat), one part fat, and nearly one and one- 
half parts sugar. Furthermore, all proteins, including 
milk, have been shown by careful analysis to contain 
anvwhere from one-third to one-half their bulk in 



194 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

carbohydrates, or animal starches, chiefly in the form 
of some modification of sugar. 

The fat of the milk is not only for the purpose of 
nutrition, but is also a means for the maintenance of 
the body heat. This function of the fat is absolutely 
essential for the rapid growth of the infant, so well 
exemplified in the stomach which receives this heat- 
producing food. Skimmed milk, or milk from which 
most of the cream has been removed, should never 
be given to a child, because the removal of cream makes 
tougher curds harder to digest. Cream aids digestion, 
while cream and water mixtures are too rich besides 
being a one-sided food, not containing all the elements 
required for the building up of the body, besides caus- 
ing indigestion. Condensed milks, besides lacking in 
many of the essential elements, are deficient in fat 
and too large a percentage of sugar to be healthy. 

Cow's milk is rich in albumen, which is one of the 
most important of foods. It is demanded by the newly- 
born baby and remains an indispensable factor in the 
diet as long as life lasts. It is a constitutent of every 
important organ of the body, and forms the principal 
ingredient of the blood. 

All authorities on infant feeding agree that no arti- 
ficially-fed infant can be kept safely on any permanent 
diet which does not contain fresh cow's milk. Lasting 
injury may result from feeding a poorly balanced food, 
in fact, proper nourishment during the first years of 
a child's life will go a long way toward making a strong, 
healthy boy or girl equipjped to fight successfully the 
battles of life. 

Xo mother should think of trying to raise a child 
without good, live cow's milk properly treated. But 
cow's milk alone is not a suitable food for infants or 
children until after 2 years of age, for the digestive 
tract is very tender, and there is a rapid and constant 
development of the digestive organs which should not 
be strained with the hard, unnatural task of dissolving 
the tough, dense curd of cow's milk which even many 
an adult cannot do. 

The increased percentage of bottle-fed infants every 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 195 

year aud the appalliug death rate among children of 
one Tear of age, have called upon the genius of man to 
solve a problem which the world's foremost j^hysicians 
are trying to work out through the modification of 
cow's milk, but with varying success. 

"WHY MODIFICATIONS OF MILK FAIL/^ 

At best, ordinary modified milk is a poor substitute 
for mother's milk. The usual mode of modifying cow's 
milk is by the use of a certain per cent of top milk, 
bottom milk, lime water and sugar of milk. While it 
is true that this system of modification helps to soften 
the dense curd, no modification of this description can 
possibly prevent the formation of tough curds or cause 
the modified milk to remain uniform in the baby's 
stomach, as does mother's milk; and this is very 
necessary. 

Modified milk naturally becomes acidulated by the 
digestive secretions of the stomach and forms into 
heavy curds which resist the normal (healthy) pro- 
cesses of digestion and instead of yielding the needed 
nourishment they become an element of danger, caus- 
ing fermentation and distress. Nature never intended 
anything but tiny, soft flakes of milk like good, prop- 
erly-constituted mother's milk. The curds put the 
stomach to twice the labor nature meant for it, as they 
have to be dissolved and broken up into small particles 
before they can be digested and assimilated. Diges- 
tion is one thing, assimilation another; food may be 
digested, yet not absorbed by the blood. 

This modification may resemble mother's milk so 
far as chemical analysis is concerned, but chemical 
analysis does the baby little good unless the milk can 
be digested and assimilated. The baby is not looking 
for a chemical analysis, but for milk that resembles 
mother's milk in its action. Good mother's milk when 
acidulated by the secretions of the baby's stomach, 
forms into tiny, soft flakes which are digested without 
effort. 

One other thing of great importance which for a 
long time had been overlooked is that cow's milk, un- 



196 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

less heated, is full of germs, many of which cause 
digestive disturbances; while mother's milk is sterile, 
practically free from germs, and is alkaline. Cow's 
milk, on the other hand, is more or less acid unless 
properly treated. 

For many yeares scientists not only in America but 
also in Great Britain, France, Germany and other 
countries, have given endless time and thought to the 
solving of one of the greatest and most difficult prob- 
lems of the twentieth century : how to modify and treat 
cow's milk so that every baby could readily digest 
and assimilate it without overtaxing and wearing out 
the frail stomach; but without any marked success. 
However, the death rate was alarmingly on the increase. 
This was a positive proof that up to the present time 
modified milk and the many advertised substitutes for 
mother's milk have failed in their mission, none of 
them being able to subdivide the curd or solids of the 
milk into small enough particles. 

The reason why years have been spent in trying to 
prepare it so that it would really be a true substitute 
is that milk is the only natural food for babies. (See 
"Discovery of the Keal Substitute.") 



CHAPTER 61. 

DISCOVERY OF THE REAL SUBSTITUTE. 

In the year 1903 science came to the aid of the mother 
and to the rescue of the infant. It was discovered that 
by raising the temperature of cow's milk to 212° Fah- 
renheit (just to the boil), then taking certain cereals, 
putting them through a lengthy process, combining 
them scientifically and then adding them to the heated 
cow's milk, that the character of the cow's milk was 
completely changed. It was still fresh milk, but the 
natural action was changed to the action of mother's 
milk. The curd was broken up in tiny, soft flakes, 
smaller than a pin-head, and when tested with acids 
of the human stomach, was found to remain uniform as 

\ 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 197 

did properly constituted mother's milk. Different 
chemists tested the milk and all made the same report. 

The discovery of this preparation gave different re- 
sults from anything ever before achieved. While the 
discoverer felt positive that every baby could readily 
digest and assimilate every element in the cow's milk 
when combined with the new-found preparation, it had 
first to be proven beyond the shadow of a doubt before 
it could be held up as a perfect food for babies and 
adults, and put within the reach of doctors and 
mothers. 

Babies of different ages were tried. The ones first 
selected were considered hopeless. The mother's milk 
did not nourish proi)erly ; wet-nurses had been tried ; 
different formulas of modified milk; and nearly every 
known baby food, but without any results. The baby 
continued to go down gradually, the parents had be- 
come skeptical, and had lost all hope. In some cases 
nearly every function of the body had practically ceased 
to work, and to live seemed almost an impossibility; 
but in every instance these dying babies commenced to 
thrive from the beginning and added to their weight 
steadily. 

One instance, — a baby girl four months old who 
had vomited from birth. No food, modified milk or 
mother's milk, had nourished her. She Aveighed be- 
tween three and four pounds. Every breath was ex- 
pected to be her last; she lay exhausted and lifeless, 
too weak to cry, move, or nurse her bottle; her eyes 
partly closed ; no strength to open or shut them. This 
dying baby was fed the new food by means of a medi- 
cine dropper every fifteen minutes, all the child could 
be induced to take. After a few hours a little color 
began to show in the tiny face, the baby revived, and 
the natural functions resumed their work ; the vomiting 
gradually ceased, and this baby grew into a healthy, 
happy childhood. True, it took time to feed and revive 
the dry, shrivelled cells, the relaxed and almost life- 
less vital organs ; the nuicuous membrane of the stom- 
ach came out of its dying stupor. Slowly and surely 
proper nourishment did its wonderful Avork. 



198 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

This food has been tested on hundreds of babies, — 
babies twenty-four hours old digested it as well as a 
child of 5 years. Healthy, growing infants also re- 
ceived proper nourishment and continued to grow and 
thrive. The convalescent, the aged, the post-operative 
cases and the tubercular all alike digested and assimi- 
lated this wonderful, life-giving food. Indigestion, 
scurvy, rickets, eczema, and diseases of malnutrition 
soon disappeared. The nervous, thin, sickly, sleepless* 
cross babies became healthy, happy, full of life and 
laughter, with rosy cheeks, bright eyes and solid flesh. 
There was no flabby or soft flesh among the lot. 

It was found that when this preparation was added 
to cow's milk, every single element was supplied for 
making a rapidly-growing child, and that there was no 
more experimenting with baby. The trying days and 
nights were passed, there was no longer starvation diet 
for baby, and the problem of the century had been 
solved. The baby could have enough to eat without 
any bad after-effects; could eat rapidly without any 
distress. There were no more tough curds to prolong 
digestion; the hard, over-taxing Avork was done before 
the milk went into the stomach, and the food remained 
uniform no matter how large a mouthful had been swal- 
lowed. With ordinary modified milk, the feeding in 
most cases had to be slow, as too rapid swallowing 
caused larger curds. 

The discovery of this preparation revolutionized 
bottle feeding; theories not resting on established 
facts which apparently had worked in some cases 
in the past had to be laid aside, as it was found by 
practical tests that the old cut-and-dried way of feed- 
ing babies no longer brought satisfactory results. Here 
was a food, a perfect and natural substitute for 
mother's milk, acting as good mother's milk should 
act, as if it were prepared by Nature. Ideas and 
theories ceased to work, for Nature was dealing with 
baby, and man's wisdom was set at naught. 

While the merits of this new food had been proven 
conclusively, there still remained a big problem: — the 
preparation was different from anything ever yet dis- 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 199 

covered, dying babies had been brought to life, and its 
results were declared to be miraculous; Avhile all who 
had tested it felt that it should not be classed with 
the ordinary baby foods, for it was Nature's food. The 
preparation needed a name, as it would have to be put 
up by someone within the reach of all. After much 
deliberation it was called Dennos Food, the name 
*'Dennos" having no particular meaning, but of neces- 
sity had to be trade-marked. 

A well known banking man of Seattle, Wash., had 
an only child, a baby boy, whose life was saved by 
Dennos Food after mother's milk, two wet nurses, four 
doctors, modified milk, and nearly every known baby 
food had failed. Little Harrison was starving to death 
by inches, being powerless to digest any food. His 
little stomach had become irritated and inflamed by 
improper food, and he screamed day and night. Finally 
the distracted parents heard of this new and wonder- 
working food, and the baby found at last a food he 
could digest. Instead of a screaming, agonizing baby 
the soothing, healing virtues of this food made him 
happy, satisfied, and best of all, healthy and able to 
digest his food perfectly. 

So joyful were the parents to witness this remark- 
able change after so many weeks of agony that they 
wanted every mother in the country to hear about the 
food. The result was that Mr. Olmstead and some of 
his friends undertook to finance the production of 
Dennos Food and to place it within the reach of all 
who wish to test its merits. From the office of the 
Dennos Food Company, as it is styled, at 911 Western 
Avenue, in Seattle, sufficient samples may be obtained 
by any mother who has need. 

It is generally conceded wherever the food has been 
used that it will be used universally, sooner or later, 
because it is believed to be the only preparation of 
the kind which can live. The writer has seen instance 
after instance of babies growing into healthy, happy 
childhood who would otherwise have died in great 
agony and left their parents childless and broken- 



200 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

hearted and discouraged. Hence it is that the writer 
does not hesitate to sing its praises. 

To say that this food will agree with every baby 
may seem to be a broad statement, but the secret is, — 
no curds, tiny, soft flakes, and best of all the food 
remaining uniform in the stomach, enabling it to 
digest the food without taxing the feeblest system, 
without effort, or without waste of energy anywhere. 
Every mother may test the truth of the above state- 
ment by preparing Dennos and testing with pepsin as 
given in Test for Baby Foods and Cow's Milk. 

Some may ask: "Is the stomach given work enough?" 
The answer is, Yes, just the same amount that good 
old mother's milk gives, and the Avork goes on naturally, 
easily, without distress, building up a perfect physique. 

Cow's milk modified by Dennos is in every respect 
a perfect substitute. It contains very few germs and 
consequently less acid, with more alkali like mother's 
milk when lime water is added and the food is pre- 
pared as given in the directions. The milk and water 
are brought to 212° Fahrenheit, just starting to boil, 
when Dennos is at once added. This lowers the tem- 
perature to 185° or lower, depending on the amount 
of liquid used in mixing Dennos into a smooth, thin 
paste. 

This mode of preparing it is not any more consti- 
pating than raw milk, the reason being that Dennos 
flakes the curd into such small, soft particles that 
it is more soothing and much easier to be digested, 
^^either are any of the essential elements destroyed. 
Nevertheless, most babies for the first two months are 
usually constipated for this reason : Dennos is non- 
irritating, free from injurious germs, and so full of 
substance and life-giving elements that the stools or 
passages are thick and full of substance. 

The intestines usually do not give enough secretion 
until this life-giving food builds them up into a healthy 
state, when the constipation disappear. Babies at the 
breast or on many of the other foods suffer from 
habitual constipation, yet the milk is not heated. 
When a child has scant stools, this shows that it is 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 201 

getting yevy little uourishmeut. Cow's milk is natu- 
rally constipating for some people. 

There is little more to be said on the subject of 
infant-feeding in a work w^hich must cover the ground 
mapped out for this volume. The subject is large 
enough to comprise a treatise in itself, and the writer 
has been compelled to leave many things unsaid be- 
cause of crowding space. After all, common sense 
and a little physiological knowledge are the first best 
aids to the troubled mother. As a noted eastern 
physician said, "There have been so many expressions 
regarding artificial feeding that are so diverse, and 
so opposed to one another, that it is evident much 
which has for years been taught must be unlearned in 
order to be successful. 

''The recent discoveries in bacteriology, for instance, 
throw light on the reason for the old and well-de- 
served popularity of boiled milk in digestive disturb- 
ances, and plainly point out that had we better under- 
stood the significance of the sterility of breast milk, 
there would have been more rapid advances in the 
management of the infant's diet. The most important 
part is that we should recognize our ignorance and 
keeping our eyes open to all possible scientific ad- 
vancement, be ready to sweep aside preconceived ideas 
not resting upon established fact." 



CHAPTER 62. 

CARE OP MILK. 

Too much emphasis cannot be placed on the care of 
the milk and its relation to the baby's health, whether 
it is the first or second year of the child's life. 

During the hot weather, the high rate of temperature 
produces rapid changes in the milk. Very few babies 
escape summer complaint, or a little looseness of the 
bowels. Even the child at the breast generally comes 
in for its share of trouble during the hot weather. 
If a child was properly cared for, however, few cases 
would prove fatal. A child's digestive organs are not 



202 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

as strong during hot weather as thej are during tlie 
cool weather. 

All milk contains bacteria or germs, the same as 
all drinking water. Some milk contains more bac- 
teria than others, the number depending on the clean- 
liness employed in handling and in the care ot the 
milk. When the milk is kept cold the bacteria do not 
multiply so rapidly. Many of these bacteria are per- 
fectly harmless ; during the summer months something 
should be done to kill the bacteria, however, as there 
is danger of bowel troubles. Heating milk to 218 
degrees F., and keeping it there for twenty minutes 
or more will kill all active germs. Milk so treated 
is called sterilized milk. But the process changes the 
taste and character of the milk and makes it unfit 
for continued use as a food for infants. 

The best method to use during the summer months 
is to pasteurize the milk; that is, raise the tempera- 
ture to 150 or 155 degrees for 15 or 20 minutes. All 
the active germs will be destroyed without the food 
value of the milk being changed. In fact, pasteurizing 
may well be continued during the year. Killing the 
germs once will not make the milk safe for use if it 
is put afterward into carelessly washed and unscalded 
vessels and left exposed to dust. Dust or flies bring 
new germs that will infect the milk again. 

Keep the milk on ice or in a cool place, covered with 
a square of clean, damp muslin which will keep moist 
if the corners are allowed to reach to a pan of water 
underneath. In this way there will be no bad odor 
or will it quickly sour, because the air is allowed to 
circulate about the milk. Never cover the milk with 
a tight lid, so as to exclude the air, causing milk to 
have a bad odor and taste. Everything connected with 
the milk should be well-washed and scalded. 

Never warm the milk in the bottle, as the compara- 
tively slow process may permit it to sour. Heat it 
quickly in another vessel before pouring it into the 
bottle. Always taste the milk after it is warmed for 
the baby. 

Never feed milk that is over 24 hours old. Milk that 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 203 

is just turning is more dangerous than sweet clabber, 
^ever try to keep babies' milk Avarm in any kind of a 
device, for it will cause the milk to sour. 

During the hot weather it is well to add a small 
pinch of baking soda, or one-half of a soda mint to 
each feeding of milk, especially if there is any doubt 
its being as sweet as it should be. The soda will coun- 
teract the effect of the acid in the milk, and will do 
the baby no harm. Soda is almost uniyersally recom- 
mended by our best physicians for use during the sum- 
mer months. Get your milk as early as 3^ou can and 
prepare baby's food without delay. 

Neyer use one cow's milk if it can be avoided. In 
the spring when the cows get the first green grass, it 
affects baby as it will be laxative, until the child has 
become accustomed to the change in the milk. Mothers 
should not feel alarmed. Give baby a good dose of 
castor oil and add some extra lime water to the milk. 
If baby is using two ounces of lime water, say, to the 
tw^enty-four hours' feeding, at this time add three 
ounces of lime water. 

PASTEURIZIXG MILK AT HOME. 

As soon as the milk arrives, put the amount the 
baby will need for 24 hours in the upper part of a 
double boiler; cover, and place directly on the hottest 
part of the stove. Stir occasionally. Pour plenty of 
boiling water into the bottom of the double boiler, 
and when the milk reaches 120 degrees, place it im- 
mediately over this hot water, which should come well 
up around the inner vessel. 

Push the double boiler well to the back of the stove. 
where it must remain about ten minutes. Stir occa- 
sionally, and test the milk's temperature, being sure 
the end of the thermometer is well below the surface. 
Do not let the milk get hotter than 155 or 160 degrees F. 

When the milk reaches 155 degrees, set the entire 
boiler off the stove and let the milk remain over the 
hot water ten minutes longer. Then set in a pan of 
cold water and cool rapidly. Stir frequently until 
the milk is nearly cold, so as to prevent cream from 



204 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

rising. When the milk is perfectly cold, put away 
and cover from dust. 

THE HOME-MADE REFRIGERATOR. 



This is a simple, inexpensive, home-made refrig- 
erator that is most excellent for keeping baby's milk 
cool and sweet during the warm summer months. It 
may be placed outside of a kitchen or pantry window ; 
in the basement where the air can blow on it; or on 
the north side of the house. 

First make a strong box, as near water tight as 
possible, with dimensions of 3 feet long, 1^ feet wide 
and 11/2 feet high, of two-inch plank. Drive nailholes 
five inches apart around the four sides of the box, 
one-half inch from the bottom of the box, inside meas- 
urement. Withdraw the nails and insert a nail one 
size smaller into each. Now nail four legs made of 
lumber 2x4, or of any strong pieces, at the four cor- 
ners of the box. The length of these will depend on 
the height of the bottom from the ground of the upper 
sash of the window intended for use. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 205 

The nailholes just made should come about au inch 
or so below the bottom of the upper sash. 

Nail cleats across to the legs and insert shelves. 
Tack heavy grain sacks, or get the regular burlap 
which can be bought by the yard; and tack double to 
the bottom of the box just below the nailholes on 
all four sides, stretching and tacking at the corners to 
the legs of the box. Leaving an opening in front. 

The refrigerator is now ready to be put in place. 
If at the window, a strap passed around the box and 
nailed to the window frame on each side will hold 
it in place close to the window. 

Fill the box at the top full of water, regulate the 
water flow on the sacks or burlap by pulling out the 
nails one-quarter of an inch or by pushing in to the 
head. When the heavy burlap is once saturated the 
box of water will last for two days. The air blowing 
through the heavy burlap will cause the milk to keep 
cool and keep butter hard. 

Put baby's milk in a wide-mouthed glass jar and 
stand in a stewpan of cold water ; wet a piece of heavy 
cheese cloth or muslin and spread over the jars of 
milk. Let the ends of the cloth rest in the water in 
the pan to keep the cloth wet and permit a circula- 
tion of air, keeping the milk sweet. Xo dirt or dust 
can sift through. Boil the cloth which covers the milk 
in soap and water daily, or the cloth will sour and 
have a bad odor. 

Be sure to keep the box above full of water, and 
be sure to use grain sacks or heavy burlap doubled for 
the sides, as a lighter weight goods would not answer, 
drying out faster without keeping the contents of the 
box cool. 



CHAP TEE 63. 

SOUR MILK AND SUMAFER COMPLAINT. 

When baby has had a feeding of sour or tainted milk, 
the effects do not generally manifest themselves until 
the third dav. The acid of the tainted milk irritates 



206 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

the tender mucous membrane of the intestines and 
there will be a diarrhoea. The diarrhoea will not cease 
until the irritation is healed. 

As soon as it is found that baby has had tainted 
milk, give castor oil, a large tablespoonful, if the child 
is under six months old. Many mothers may be 
amazed at the amount suggested, but this will give a 
satisfactory result, and it is absolutely necessary to 
get what is causing the trouble out of the system. 

The big dose will clean out the stomach and bowels 
alike, bringing away the poison, and the oil is soothing 
and healing to the irritated stomach and intestines; 
while a small dose of oil will just move the bowels 
and it will not clean out the stomach and intestines, 
which is so necessary. The large dose of oil does not 
gripe like the small dose. 

Do not give castor oil just before or after feeding. 
If the child does not take the tablespoonful at one 
dose, give one teaspoonful every five or ten minutes 
until four teaspoonfuls are given. 

During a bad attack of diarrhoea you must remember 
that if baby's bowels are moving frequently in the 
passages there will be undigested milk and food, as 
the intestines do not retain anything long enough to 
digest it completely, as the greatest part of the diges- 
tion takes place in the intestines. 

It is best to give an enema of warm salt water once 
or twice a day, using two teaspoonfuls of salt to one 
quart of water. Enemas are constipating, as the secre- 
tions of the bowels are washed away. Mothers should 
never let diarrhoea get a good start. 

Nothing should be given baby to heal or check the 
diarrhoea until after the castor oil has had effect, then 
the poison is out. The average mother will be tempted 
to try paregoric or some dose containing opium for 
diarrhoeal troubles, but nothing more injurious could 
be done, for whatever is causing the diarrhoea instead 
of being expelled would be retained in the drugged 
bowels to continue its work of destruction. 

Where there is any irritation in the stomach there 
will be mucus in the stools. The mucus will hinder 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 207 

the child's food from being properly digested, as the 
mucus will line the intestines in such a way as to 
prevent the full action of the digestive juices. 

Sometimes diarrhoea is caused by cold settling in 
the bowels. Be sure to add lime water, as it is con- 
stipating and will help to right the disorder. Baby's 
appetite during an attack of diarrhoea and after will 
be fitful, but it must not be forced, even if it seems 
to fail for several days. Simply weaken the food and 
wait for nature. 

Be careful about feeding orange juice during the 
warm weather, as it has frequently been the cause of 
diarrhoea. Many babies cannot take barley w^ater. 
Barley is noted for its fermenting qualities, and it 
sours very quickly and often aggravates diarrhoea if 
used too long. 

Much' water should not be given during an attack 
of diarrhoea, as the water will go right through. When 
vomiting accompanies diarrhoea and baby vomits as 
soon as fed, yet is hungry, feed immediately after the 
vomiting and in nine cases out of ten the food will 
be retained. 

As soon as the mother discovers that baby has had 
a feeding of old or tainted milk, give a tablespoonful 
of castor oil, one hour after the feeding (so that the 
oil will not produce vomiting), give the oil in teaspoon 
doses five or ten minutes apart, until four teaspoonfuls 
are given. The oil will hurry the tainted milk out 
of the system before it has time to do so much damage. 

Do not wait to see what effect the tainted milk is 
going to have, but at once apply the remedy. 

If baby already has a diarrhoea some mothers w^ill 
say, "My baby does not need castor oil, as the bowels 
are moving so often now." True, but there is some- 
thing in the digestive tract causing the diarrhoea which 
much be removed, else a cure cannot be effected. The 
mucus which is full of poison and hinders digestion, 
besides causing large amounts of gas to form, must be 
gotten out by the oil. Care for the inflamed buttocks 
or genital organs must be accomplished as recom- 
mended elsewhere in this book. 



208 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

Bismuth subnitrate, after the oil has acted, is very 
effective in overcoming diarrhoea if it persists. 

After each boAvel movement an injection of three- 
fourths of a tablespoonful of olive oil with one drop 
of laudinum in it has given good results, allowing the 
child to retain the oil. Use a small infant bulb 
syringe; lay the infant on its left side with the hips 
elevated so the oil will enter the colon readily. Leave 
the child in this position for about eight or ten minutes. 
The child will retain the oil better if the buttocks are 
held tight together. As in many cases of diarrhoea the 
colon is affected; allowing the oil to be retained helps 
to heal more quickly. 

There are very few cases of summer complaint where- 
in food should be withheld, as baby needs nourishment 
to keep up its strength. When nourishment is with- 
held too long the diarrhoea will not be any better. A 
continuation of diarrhoea will result in the stomach 
and intestines becoming weak and less able to care 
for food each day. 

After diarrhoea the diet of the child must not be 
kept too low. As its digestive power increases the diet 
should be improved proportionately. This is very im- 
portant, as rickets is not uncommon as a result of the 
impairment of nutrition produced by the disease ; and 
therefore is favored by anything which tends to pro- 
long the weakly condition of the child. A diet of bar- 
ley water for two or three weeks is exceedingly risky 
in more ways than one. There are cases of infectious 
diarrhoea that resemble typhoid fever in adults. In 
such cases it is well to give barley water for a few 
days or a week, then the regular food should be Aveak- 
ened and gradually take the place of the barley. 

Never allow a well baby to be near one which is 
affected with diarrhoea, as some forms are A^ery con- 
tagious. RemoA^e all soiled napkins, Avash and boil, 
add some Lysol to the water as a disinfectant. 

The constipation which usually succeeds the diarrhoea 
should not be lightly interfered with, or another attack 
of diarrhoea may result. Do not give a physic for 
seA^eral days. A glycerine suppository is good, or an 



I 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 209 

injection of olive oil is still better. If there is a fever 
it is well to nse an enema, as this will lower the tem- 
peratnre. If any physic is used castor oil is best^ 
one teaspoonful. 

When Baby T was three Aveeks old, a careless 

nurse permitted her to have a feeding of sour milk. 
Castor oil was given ; by careful nursing her life was 
saved. The young, tender stomach and intestines were 
badly irritated. There Avas from six to eight bowel 
moA^ements a day for over eight weeks, although one- 
fourth teaspoonful of Bismuth Subnitrate Avas given in 
each feeding of milk. The gain in weight was slow 
because of the frequent bowel moA^ements. 

At the age of four months a mild case of eczema de- 
A^eloped, a result of the diarrhea, Avhich yielded to 
proper treatment. 



CHAPTER 64. 

CARE OP BABY DURING THE SUMAIER. 

EA'ery summer death claims thousands of babies, 
the majority of the cases being preventable. BoAA^el 
trouble is the chief cause. It behooA^es every mother 
to know how to overcome and avoid this serious and 
dangerous disease, the reason for which, it has been 
proA^en, is ignorance. 

During the hot days Avatchful care, Av^isdom and 
experience will be needed to keep baby well, especially 
the bottle baby. The high rate of temperature pro- 
duces rapid changes in both cow's milk and other 
foods; and the digestiAe organs of an infant are never 
as strong in summer as in winter. Heat affects the 
whole body, August and September being the critical 
months. 

The second summer of a child's life is the most 
serious. Besides teething, new articles of diet are 
generally giA^en, in addition to what is obtained by 
nursing. This together with teething is more than 
most babies can stand. It is best in the first place 
not to feed adult food until after the "critical second 



210 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

summer.'- If one does not start to give baby tastes 
of things, there will not be much trouble. 

Diarrhoea often may be prevented by attention to 
diet. All undigestible food in its passage through the 
bowels gives rise to irritation and causes an increased 
flow of watery fluid from the vessels of the intestines. 
Babies will swallow bits of paper, coal, sand and other 
undigstible matter which will irritate the intestines. 

Avoid orange juice during the warm weather. The 
increased acid condition of food and the acid of orange 
juice will cause diarrhoea and often eczema. 

Do not wean a baby during the spring or summer 
months. The last of October or middle of November 
is the best time. 

During the warm weather baby enjoys a sponge bath 
before going to bed after a warm, trying day. Do not 
dress too warm. 

Be sure to offer hahy a drink of tvater often. Also 
during the night. Above all things do not lay baby 
down unprotected from the flies or other insects. 

A baby often loses appetite during the warm weather. 
Do not feel any uneasiness, bat let nature have her 
way. Weaken the baby's food if the appetite fails, and 
wait for nature. 

The care of baby's milk is the one important thing. 
Use wisdom and discretion, and make inquiries in re- 
gard to your milk supply. Make sure that the milk 
you give 3 our baby does not come from cows that are 
fed barley grain, malt or oil-meal, as these cause 
diarrhoea and vomiting with baby. Do not feed baby 
with milk from one cow. Be sure your milk is fresh. 
As soon as it arrives, prepare baby's food and place 
it in a wide-mouthed economy or other jar; and set 
the jar in a large pan of cold water. Take a piece 
of clean cheese cloth, wring it out in cold water, and 
cover the jars of milk, letting the ends rest down in 
the water. This Avill keep the cheese cloth wet, and 
permit circulation of air, as well as prevent dust and 
flies from getting into the milk. 

Never cover milk closely, as it sours quicker and 
acquires a certain taste as well as a bad odor. Pas- 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 211 

teiirize baby's milk during- warm weather, as a child 
Tvill fall ill quicker from the effects of raAv milk than 
from pasteurized. Keep ice if possible, and if not, 
have milk cooler made as suggested elsewhere. Wash 
baby's bottle and nipple as soon as used. If baby 
leaves any food in the bottle or refuses to take it, do 
not save, but throw it away. 

During warm weather a small pinch of baking soda 
or a half soda mint should be added to each feeding. 
The soda will counteract in large measure the effects 
of acid. Ahvays taste the milk after it is warmed for 
baby's bottle, to be sure it is not tainted. If there is 
reason to believe baby has had a feeding of old or 
tainted milk, good results will be obtained if directions 
are followed as given in the chapter on Sour Milk and 
Summer Complaint. 

A can of Eagle Brand condensed milk should be 
kept on hand and if there is any doubt about the sweet- 
ness of baby's milk, one or two feedings of weak Eagle 
Brand diluted by the first formula should be given, 
until fresh milk is received again. The reason for 
diluting Eagle Brand is that unless baby is accustomed 
to taking it regularly its stomach will be upset if it 
is made too strong. If Eagle Brand cannot be ob- 
tained, Kobinson's Prepared Barley should be on hand 
and enough made up for a few feedings. Care must 
be exercised with the latter, as barley water sours in 
a few hours. After it is cold add a little lime water. 
As barley is too acidulous for most babies, diarrhoea 
must be guarded against. Eagle Brand is often the 
safer. 



CHAPTER 65. 

WEANING BABY. 

The weaning of baby depends largely on circum- 
stances. If it is on the bottle, do not wean just before 
or during the hot weather, or until after the second 
summer when the functions of digestion are better 
established and stronger. If baby is being suckled and 



212 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

the mother only has a small supply of milk at this 
time (providing the milk fully agrees with baby and 
there are no green stools), she should let baby take 
what she has in both breasts at each feeding time and 
then let it haye milk or other liquid food to satisfy 
and finish the meal. 

In cases of this kind a mother should keep up her 
milk supply carefully against sickness, for if baby 
should fall ill, the breast milk alone will saye the life 
of the child frequently when everything else fails. But 
if the mother's milk is not properly digested, then a 
child should be weaned. 

All children should either be suckled or haye the 
bottle until after the "critical second summer." Some 
advocate gradual weaning, but in many cases it is not 
carried out very successfully. Personally the writer 
has never known any bad results from weaning by 
taking either breast or bottle away at once, providing 
it was done after the second summer when the weather 
was cool. November or the middle of October are ex- 
cellent months. 

Weaning by the signs of the Zodiac is recommended 
by some. Many farmers and stockmen wean their 
calves by this method, also plant their seeds by moon 
signs. It is a well-known fact that the tide of the 
ocean is affected by the moon, and the sign that the 
sun seems to be passing through is supposed to influ- 
ence birthdays and childbirth, and the entire solar 
system is supposed to influence mankind. 

The Zodiac is divided into twelve equal parts, called 
"signs." Each sign is thirty degrees, so that the earth 
in making its yearly revolution around the sun passes 
through one of these signs each month. The move- 
ment of the earth makes the sun appear to pass through 
the sign opposite the sign through which the earth is 
passing. 

The moon in making its monthly revolution around 
the earth passes through all the signs of the zodiac 
each month. The days of each month in which the 
moon sign coincides with the sun sign are supposed 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 213 

to have intliience of far greater intensity. These signs 
are given each year in some almanacs. 

Many of course say that to wean a child by the signs 
of the zodiac is nothing but superstition. Neverthe- 
less, good results are reported, that baby did not fret 
as much as expected when the weaning took place when 
the sign for the month and year was in the thigh. 



CHAPTER 66. 

WHEN BABY BEGINS TO EAT. 

Undue importance is attached too frequently to the 
appearance of the first tooth. Its presence is hailed 
as the beginning of a new era in the child's life, and 
no opportunity is lost to put the new tooth to a legiti- 
mate use. Some say, ''Well, the tooth is to eat with, 
and besides, our great grandmothers fed their babies 
adult food before they were eight months old, and they 
did not kill their children !" 

Many, however, have forgotten to state the manner 
in which we were fed adult food by our grandmothers. 
They had sense enough to know that the food should 
first be well chewed, and they knew baby was unable 
to perform this task, so they kindly did it themselves, 
taking the finely masticated bits and putting them into 
the baby's mouth. Of course baby relished the bite 
and digested the food because it had been prepared; 
but our ancestors did not allow their babies to eat and 
do the chewing with their little gums. 

Unfortunately, the practice of chewing food for 
baby has long been discontinued, and now baby is sup- 
posed to do that part itself. As a result the partly- 
chewed food gives rise to indigestion and often diar- 
rhoea, as the passing of the food creates irritation. 

Nature never intended the stomach to do the work 
of the teeth or that a child should eat adult food until 
it was through teething, as the digestive organs are 
not fully developed until that time. 

Do not feed baby under two years of age on adult 
food. While apparently it may be doing nicely, if it 
lives it will be in spite of the treatment rather than 



214 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

because of any care. If it is lucky enough to live, it 
will have almost no chance for a healthy digestion, or 
a normal stomach. All the delicate organism of its 
body will be thrown out of order, strained, ruined by 
being overworked in infancy. 

During the period of dentition development changes 
gradually take place in the digestive tract which fit the 
child for an independent existence. ATeaning from 
the breast or bottle should not take place until after 
the second summer. Some children, however, will not 
be satisfied with the bottle alone until this time. The 
reason the second summer is considered the most criti- 
cal is because baby generally receives other food be- 
sides that which is obtained by nursing. If, however, 
the child does not seem to derive sufiicient nourishment 
from the milk, it may be given some additional food, 
provided the weather is cool ; but always it must be 
remembered that the chief constituent must be milk. 

When a child frets for different articles of food on 
the table, it is generally because some imprudent per- 
son has allowed it to have a taste. If it is not tempted 
by tasting others, it will be content with its simple 
food. 

It is generally a disturbing question with mothers 
as to when baby should begin to receive other food 
besides that obtained by nursing. When mother de- 
cides that baby must begin to eat, she must remember 
that the stomach is still used to fluids easily assimi- 
lated. Beef tea should not be given if there is a tend- 
ency to diarrhcea. Mutton is constipating, while veal 
causes diarrhoea. If baby is to have mutton or other 
broth, let the food first get cold, then very carefully 
remove the grease, as grease causes indigestion and 
upsets the stomach. 

When baked apple is given, it must be cooked soft 
and strained through a wire sieve. Stewed prunes 
must be strained and if meant for a laxative, sweet- 
ened with dark brown sugar. Instead of letting baby 
eat raw fruit, stew it and strain. Cereals should be 
well cooked. Wheat cereal like Farina gives the best 
results as the small particles make it very readily 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 215 

digested, and do not irritate the digestive tract. Oat- 
meal is the most laxative cereal, but like barley-water, 
may cause intestinal irritation with some children, 
and for most children is too heavy a food, also too heat- 
ing. 

Orange juice should never be given to a baby except 
in cases of scurvy and rickets, as the acid will gen- 
erally set up an irritation, especially if the child has 
plenty of acid; and may cause diarrhoea. After the 
second year diluted sweetened orange juice is beneficial. 

After a child is two years old, too much care cannot 
be exercised in regard to the diet. At this age it requires 
stronger food and a larger variety. Beef or mutton 
cooked until ready to fall apart, should be chopped 
fine, seasoned and given to the child; also well-cooked 
vegetables. Green colored vegetables act on the liver, 
spinach, etc. Xo vegetables, except potatoes should 
be given baby until after two years old. 

The following suggested diet is advisable for a child 
just beginning to eat: Farina, served with some of 
baby's prepared milk, and some sugar; mutton or 
chicken broth, free of fat; poached or coddled egg; 
toast thinly-buttered and softened with three teaspoon- 
fuls of boiling water, served with two or three ounces 
of cream and sugar; rice; apple sauce; junket and 
custard. 

When preparing Farina or Cream of Wheat, do not 
make a stiff, heavy paste mush, but make a thin gruel 
so the digestive juices can readily mix in through the 
gruel and digest it. If a heavy mush of any kind is 
fed the child's stomach will have more or less difficulty 
in dissolving up the pasty mouthfuls. 

It is not necessary to cook Cream of Wheat or Farina 
for two hours or more, twenty or thirty minutes is all 
that is necessary; if the mush is too thick, then thin 
it some. Be sure the water is boiling when you com- 
mence to make the gruel ; be sure and add salt enough 
to make it palatable. Serve with milk and plenty of 
sugar. When baby is constipated, an apple may be cut 
in half and scraped fine with the end of a silver knife 
and fed babv. 



216 THE TRUTH ABOUT TflE BABY 



C H A P T E R 67. 

WHAT BABY SHOULD AND SHOULD NOT EAT. 

When a normal, healthy child reaches two years of 
age, it requires a mixed diet the same as an adult to 
obtain muscular force and active life. It cannot go 
on and become a man or woman from mereh^ milk 
and thin gruel. 

Before two years such a diet would be injurious 
for the tender developing digestive organs would have 
been strained, overtaxed and perhaps ruined. A child 
just learning to walk cannot be expected to go as far 
as an adult; neither can the frail stomach be expected 
to digest adult food before two years of age. 

The following list of foods indicates what may be 
fed to the normal child in good flesh when two years 
of age: 

Meats : m,Titton, beef, venison, hare, chicken and 
turkey. After the meat is cooked it should be minced, 
chopped and ground and then properly seasoned. 
Receipts for broths that may be fed are given in this 
book elsewhere. 

Fish : haddock, flounder, st>le, oysters, trout and pike. 

Vegetables : asparagus, cauliflower, mashed potatoes, 
mashed peas. 

Cereals: Farina, Cream of Wheat, rice well-cooked. 
^ Fruit: baked apple, orange juice, strained diluted 
and sweetened ; strawberries, ripe, peeled peaches. 

Puddings: rice, junket, corn starch, sage, tapioca, 
custards, cookies, graham crackers, arrow-root crackers. 

Toast, prepared as follows : cut slices of bread thin ; 
toast quite brown ; butter ; pour over them about two 
tablespoonfuls of boiling water on each slice, to soften 
the bread; sprinkle some sugar, and pour over the 
prepared toast some of baby's milk or cream. 

Milk toast, prepared as follows : toast slices of bread 
quite brown; put some milk in a pan and when it 
becomes hot add thickening made either of flour or 
Dennos food, and a good pinch of salt (one tablespoon- 
ful of flour or Dennos will be sufficient for one pint 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 217 

of rnilkj ; stir milk until done; put in toasted bread 
and remove from fire. Prepared toast may be eaten 
with sugar or with salt sprinkled. Children x>i'efer 
sugar. 

Re cautious about feeding eggs, as they are pretty 
rich. Babies' stomachs are accustomed to milk and 
lighter fare, and meats properly prepared are often 
better than eggs. 

There are cases of children absolutely refusing an 
exclusive diet of milk when about IS months old. Do 
not allow baby to be weaned from the bottle until cool 
weather, as they often lose their appetite like adults 
during warm weather. If the weather is cool and 
baby does refuse plain milk, it may be permitted to 
eat the following until two years of age, after which 
time the diet may be gradually increased: 

Beef juice; rolled dextrinized bread (See '"Receipts") 
placed in baby's milk and fed with a spoon; thin 
mush of Cream of Wheat; prepared toast; broths pre- 
pared as directed in "Receipts" ; graham crackers if 
baby is constipated; arrow-root crackers otherwise, 
for they are better. 

Beef juice should be given before any meat, to 
strengthen the stomach and prepare it for meat. Eggs 
should not be fed until after the stomach can handle 
the meat. The majority of children can take beef 
juice when one year old if they are normal and healthy. 

The Cream of Wheat should be made into a thin 
mush and fed with sugar and some of baby's prepared 
milk. The child may have the Cream of Wheat three 
times a day as the tiny particles permit of easy 
digestion. 

Toasted bread should be prepared as outlined above, 
buttered and softened with hot water and with pre- 
pared milk and sugar also included. 

Most babies will be satisfied with the above diet 
until two years of age, when meats, vegetables and 
fruits can be fed as directed. 

WHAT XOT TO FEED. 

Foods which should not be allowed children, or 
those suffering with indigestion, until they are able 



218 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

to handle them, are included in the following list. 
When the stomach becomes strong, however, all foods 
are good and should not be altogether avoided merely 
because they are hard to digest. Easier foods should 
always be given the preference. 

The foods baby should avoid at first follow: 

Meats : veal and lamb, both of which tax digestion ; 
pork, which takes four hours to digest, contains much 
carbon and sometimes a parasite called trichina, which 
may be transferred to the human system and cause 
disease; goose; liver; heart; duck; all salt meats and 
sausages. 

Fish: mackerel, eels, salmon, herring, halibut, salt 
fish, lobster, crab and cod. 

Vegetables : artichoke, cabbage, celery, spinach and 
corn. 

Fruits: pulp of orange; raw apples; currants; rasp- 
berries ; apricots ; pears ; plums ; cherries ; pineapple. 

Cereals : corn ; oatmeal. 

Pastry: pie; rich cake. 

Drinks : any intoxicants ; coffee ; tea. 

Chocolate; pickles; cheese. 

Some mothers will permit their children to eat 
highly-seasoned foods with pepper, etc. ; salads, pickles 
and pie; and then wonder what is the matter with 
the children. Do not let a child have pepper, vinegar, 
etc., but rather good, sensible food, puddings, cookies 
and fruit. Allow it to have candy, but let it be the 
purest and best. Children often crave peanuts, but 
they do not chew them properly and consequently have 
trouble in digesting them. Peanuts are excellent food, 
but peanut butter is easily obtained and preferable. 



CHAP TEE 68. 

ADULT FOODS. 

The kinds of food we eat undoubtedly have much to 
do with our physical make-up. Unless our appetites 
have become depraved by habit, nature can be depended 
upon to make the proper selection for us. The object 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 219 

of food is to furnish means for growth, repair, heat 
and energy. It has been said that "food i^roperly 
chosen, properly cooked, and properly eaten, is half 
the battle of life." Food plays an important part not 
only in maintaining health, but in modifying and 
curing disease. 

In considering the subject of food, it is well to un- 
derstand the method by which it is appropriated by 
the human system and converted into blood, flesh, bone 
and tissue; and how it is utilized in the generation 
of heat and force. Every one who has his welfare at 
heart or the welfare of offspring must study what food 
does, gastric digestion, intestinal digestion and es- 
pecially the assimilation of food. 

During life the fluids and solid tissues of the body 
are constantly undergoing change. Xew material in 
the form of infinitely minute particles of muscle, nerve, 
etc., is being produced, while the old and worn out 
atoms are removed with ceaseless activity. If an 
article of food is properly masticated and completely 
combined with oxygen in the human body, it yields 
up all the force which it can afford. But if it is not 
adapted to the wants of the body, it passes off with 
the other refuse matter. 

Dr. Osborne has said: ''If the combined advice of 
four or five physicians was taken as to what should 
not be eaten, there would be nothing left for the patient 
to eat and drink." 

Meat is an essential food, the proteid being required 
to keep up the body and furnish sufficient nourishment 
to the stomach. People who are affected with rheu- 
matism are advised frequently not to eat meat. The 
Esquimaux, who live on an absolute meat diet, fre- 
quently have rheumatism and yet get over it and eat 
meat just the same. Neither do the Esquimaux women 
have difficult labor when giving birth to children. In 
South Africa where the exclusive diet is plantains, 
in Japan where rice is used, rheumatism occurs just 
the same. It is not the meat, but the condition of the 
individual. The digestive organs are not performing 



220 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

their normal functions, or there may be a lack of proper 
secretions. 

Coffee is thought by some to be injurious. A medium 
strength coffee, on the other hand, is very nutritious. 
Too strong coffee is what cannot be drunk. Coffee is 
about half nitrogen ; the rest fatty saccharine and 
mineral substance. It is therefore of much nitritive 
value, especially when taken with milk and sugar. No 
other substance so soon relieves the sense of fatigue. 
In the late Civil war, the first desire of the soldiers 
upon halting after a long march was a cup of coffee. 
Taken in moderation, it clears the intellect and serves 
as a negative food, since it retards waste. 

No individual can thrive on a one-sided diet. Meat 
is essential, but meat exclusively is not good. Vege- 
tables are also necessary, but a vegetable diet exclu- 
sively is not best adapted to man's needs. If a variety 
of vegetables, fruits and meats are not eaten so that 
every cell and tissue may be supplied with proper 
food, disease takes hold. 

The length of time required for digesting a full meal 
is from two to four hours. It varies with the kinds 
of food, state of the system and perfection of masti- 
cation. 

Mutton and beef possess the greatest nutritive value 
of the meats. Mutton is easier to digest than beef. 
These generally require about three hours for diges- 
tion, and should be minced, chopped or ground for 
children. 

The white flesh of fish is easier to digest than red 
flesh. Oysters are self-digestive when eaten raw ; cook- 
ing makes them less so. Oysters because of their 
character make blood faster than any food; and are 
particularly valuable for aged, anemic persons after 
a severe hemorrage or chronic discharges of any kind. 

Eggs are easier to digest when slightly boiled, cod- 
dled or raw. They are too rich to be eaten by young 
children under two years of age; and if fed to the 
young will frequently upset the whole digestive tract. 

Soups, excepting veal, are valuable for children after 
eighteen months of age. It is best Avhen it has become 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 221 

cold, all grease has been removed, and then strained 
through cheesecloth, rewarmed and fed. 

Kaw milk digests under normal conditions in two 
hours. Cooked milk digests in an hour and thirty 
minutes. 

Beans, peas and asparagus are easily digested. 

Prior wrote: 

"Was ever Tartar fierce and cruel, 
Upon the strength of water gruel? 
But who can stand his rage and force, 

If first he rides, then eats his horse? 

Salads and eggs and lighter fare. 
Tune the Italian sparks' guitar; 
And, if I take Don Congreve right, 

Pudding and beef make Britons fight." 

It has been said that the Irish and the Hindoos 
would not have submitted so supinely to the rule of 
England had their diet, which consists chiefly of vege- 
tables, been more highly nutritious, like that of the 
British. Our bodies are made up of flesh, proteid, 
so an exclusive vegetable diet is not right. German's 
are healthy, they eat lots of meat. The women also 
give birth to offspring easily in most cases. 



CHAPTER 69. 

WHAT FOOD DOES. 

To many persons the study of physiology no doubt 
seems very dry. Involved in it are many scientific 
terms and transmutations which to the average reader 
seem puzzling and immaterial. A slight acquaintance 
with the digestive system, however, and the wonderful 
manner in which the food we eat is transformed into 
our life-blood and tissues, are well worth the consid- 
eration of any man, be he great or small. The scientific 
facts set forth in this chapter are intended to enlighten 
the reader somewhat along physiological lines. They 
have been based upon ''Hygienic Physiology," Steele's 
"Sciences" and Bunge's "Chemistry." 



222 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

What Food Does : We can make no force ourselves. 
All our strength comes from the food we eat. Food 
is force, — that is, it contains latent Avithin it a power 
which it gives up when it is decomposed. This force 
is chemical affinity. It binds together the molecules 
which compose the food we eat. When oxygen tears 
the molecules apart and makes them up into smaller 
ones, the force is set free; it can be turned into heat, 
muscular motion, electricity, etc. The principle that 
the different kinds of force can be changed into one 
another without loss is called conservation of energy, 
and is one of the grandest discoveries of modern science. 
Of course, food does all this and more, but it first must 
be properly digested and assimilated. 

Kinds of Food Needed : In order to produce heat 
and muscular force, we need something that will burn, 
something with which oxygen can combine. Experi- 
ment has proved that to build up every organ and 
keep the body in the best possible condition, we require 
three kinds of food, — adults as well as children. 

First of these is nitrogenous food. As nitrogen is 
a prominent constituent of the tissues of the body, 
food which contains it is therefore necessary to their 
growth and repair. Since this kind of food closely 
resembles albumen, it is sometimes called albuminous. 
The term proteid is also used. The adult gets these 
different elements in the variety of food he eats, and 
the infant gets all of them in the cow's milk. The 
casein of fresh milk is rich in albumen, proteid or 
nitrogenous food. For this reason no child should be 
raised on any food the foundation of which is not 
fresh milk. 

Second is carbonaceous food. This is food contain- 
ing much carbon and consists of two kinds, th« sugars 
and the fats. The sugars contain hydrogen and oxygen 
in the proportion to form water, and about the same 
amount of carbon. In digestion, starch is changed to 
grape sugar and so is ranked in this class. The fats 
are like the sugars in composition, but contain less 
oxygen and are not in the proportion to form water. 
They combine with more oxygen in burning and so 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 223 

give off more heat. Fat is essential to the assimila- 
tion of food ; no child should ever be given milk which 
has had the cream removed. The cream in the milk 
aids in the assimilation of the food and produces heat. 
Too much cream, as the top half of a quart of milk, 
or the addition of cream to prevent constipation, v^^ill 
cause indigestion and should not be used lest the 
stomach be upset. Sugar and starch aid in digestion, 
and are converted into fat. In Turkey the women of 
the harem are fed honev and thick gruel to make flesh. 
Fat and carbonaceous material both enter into the 
composition of the various tissues, and when by the 
breaking up of the contractile substances of the muscle 
their latent energy is set free, they become the source 
of muscular force, as well as heat. The tendency of 
albuminous food is to excite chemical action and hence 
the release of energy. The fats and carbonaceous food 
may be laid up in the body to serve as a storehouse of 
energy to supply future needs. 

Third is mineral matters. Food should contain 
water and certain common minerals, such as iron, 
sulphur, magnasia, phosphorus, salt and potash. About 
three pints of water are needed daily to dissolve the 
food and carry it through the circulation, to float off 
waste matter, to lubricate the tissues, and by evapora- 
tion to cool the system. It also enters largely into 
the composition of the body. (See "Value of Water.") 



224 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 



CHAPTER 70. 



GALL 
DUDDER 

DUODENUM - 

TRANSVERSt 
COLOM 




ASCENDING ..l- 
COLON 



CAtcun.. 



4-f5T0MACn 



SMALL 
INTE5TI/^E 

-\DE5CENDINQ 
COLON 



VERMrrORMj 
APPtNWX 

SPHINCTER 
nU3Cl£5 



• — |5»6MOID 
FLEXURE 

—I RECTUM 
ANOd 



THE ALIMENTARY TRACT. 



CHAPTER 71. 

GASTRIC DIGESTION. 

If the food we eat was cast directly into the blood, 
it could not be used. Chemists cannot see wherein the 
albumen of the egg differs from the albumen of the 
blood, yet if it were injected into the blood, it would 
be thrown out again. In digestion the food is modi- 
fied in various ways and fitted for the use of the body. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BALJY 225 

This process is called assimilation, the final act con- 
verting our food into living tissue. 

The first process is the mixing of saliva with the 
food while it is being cut and ground by the teeth. 
Saliva is a thin, colorless, frothy, slightly alkaline 
liquid, secreted by the mucous membrane lining of 
the mouth and by three pairs of salivary glands, 
parotid, submaxillary and sublingual, opening into 
the mouth through ducts. These glands are not fully 
developed at birth, but are the first of the digestive 
organs to start toward a more complete development. 
Saliva softens and dissolves the food. It contains a 
peculiar organic principle called ptyalin, Avhich changes 
the starch in the food into glucose or grape sugar. 
One part ptyalin will convert 8,000 parts starch into 
grape sugar. 

Saliva has no chemical action on the fats or the 
albuminous bodies. Its frothiness 'enables it to carry 
oxygen into the stomach. The action of the ptyalin 
in the saliva commences with great promptness and 
sugar has been detected within half a minute after 
starch was placed in the mouth. The process con- 
tinues after the food reaches the stomach. 

Saliva prepares a small portion of food for absorp- 
tion at once, and so insures at the very beginning of 
the operation of digestion a supply of force-producing 
material for immediate use of the system. (Steele's 
Physiology.) Any mother can see the importance of 
this first step of digestion; and that if food is not 
properly chewed and thoroughly mixed with saliva, it 
will go into the stomach unprepared for digestion. 
The stomach has to churn and labor to do the extra 
work which should have been done by the teeth. 

The stomach is composed of three layers (1) the 
inner layer or lining called the mucous membrane, 
which secretes digestive juices; (2) the outer layer, 
smooth and well-lubricated, which prevents friction; 
(3) a stout muscular coat between the outer and inner 
layers which consists of two layers of longitudinal and 
circular fibers. 

When food is taken into the stomach these muscles 



226 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

contract and expand to produce a churning motion 
called the peristaltic movement, which thoroughly 
mixes the contents of the stomach. At the farther 
end of the stomach these muscular fibers contracting, 
form a gateway called the pylorus, which guards the 
opening into the intestines and permits no food to 
pass from the stomach until properly prepared. When 
undigestible food is eaten, the stomach will work and 
labor until it becomes exhausted, the pylorus will 
then open, and the food will go through because the 
gate has become weary of denying egress constantly. 
It gives up in despair and lets everything through. 

The lining of the healthy, normal stomach is soft 
and of a pinkish hue; but as soon as food is admitted 
the blood vessels fill and the surface becomes bright 
red. Soon there is excreted from the gastric glands a 
thin, colorless fluid, the gastric juice. 

Gastric juice is distinguished from all other diges- 
tive fluids by its acid reaction. All along the alimen- 
tary canal (digestive tract), there is an acid secretion, 
than an alkaline secretion. The saliva is slightly alka- 
line, the gastric juice acidulous. Its acidity is prob- 
ably due to muriatic acid, lactic acid, or by the free 
hydrochloric acid. Hydrochloric is claimed to kill 
certain bacilli, germs, and to prevent purefaction of 
food. The bacteria which produce lactic and butyric 
fermentation appear to be more resistant to hydro- 
chloric acid. In the normal, healthy feces, or stool, 
of man, species of bacteria are constantly found. 

Under pathological conditions, as in so-called ca- 
tarrh of the stomach, when the secretion of free hydro- 
chloric acid is suppressed and the amount of alkaline 
mucus yilded by the surface of the stomach is increased, 
the reaction, instead of being acid, may become alka- 
line and then all sorts of bacteria are able to grow. 
Lactic and butyric acids especially are formed in 
abundance. 

The contents of the stomach in a considerable num- 
ber of cases of disease have been examined by means 
of the stomach pump. It Avas found that the free 
hydrochloric acid was frequently absent in the gastric 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BA15Y 227 

juice of the patients, while pepsin was always present. 
For this reason, diluted hydrochloric acid is frequently 
prescribed as a remedy in dyspepsia. — Bunge. 

The gastric glands separate hydrochloric acid from 
the alkaline blood. The blood contains free carbonic 
acid, which by influence of mass has the power of 
setting free a small amount of hydrochloric. The 
secretion of the free acid does not occur in all the 
glands of the gastric mucous membrane. The mucous 
membrane in the region of the pylorus yields an alka- 
line secretion which also contains pepsin. The glands 
of the remainder of the membrane yield an acid secre- 
tion which contains pepsin as well as hydrochloric acid. 
The pepsin in the gastric juice acts as a ferment to 
produce changes in the food. 

The flow of gastric juice is influenced by various 
circumstances. Cold milk, water or cold drinks of 
any description, anger, fear, grief, fatigue and anxiety 
will delay and even suspend the secretion of gastric 
juice as the blood is driven from the veins in the 
stomach and digestion is retarded. Too hot food or 
drinks have likewise bad efi'ect. 

Gastric juice has no efl'ect on fats and sugars of 
the food, its influence being mainly confined to the 
albuminous bodies, proteids, curd of milk or casin, 
lean meat, etc. The juices of the stomach sour and 
curd the milk before digestion can take place. All 
foods sour because of the acid reaction of the gastric 
juice. The juices of the stomach reduce the food to a 
grayish, soup}- mass. This acid contents of the stomach 
is called chyme. It then escapes through the pylorus 
into the intestines, where the chyme is acted upon by 
three new secretions, all of which yield an alkaline 
reaction. 

If the food is not properly chewed the stomach and 
gastric juice not only fail to reduce the food to this 
soupy chyme, but also the stomach is deprived of 
needed nourishment while digestion is prolonged. The 
undigested food causes more fermentation and gas 
than is normal. There is always a certain amount of 
gas forming during digestion, caused by the natural 



228 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

fermentation of the food. The gases formed during 
digestion are called carbonic acid gas, hydrogen and 
marsh gas. In normal cases there are considerable 
quantities of gas causing dilation of the stomach and 
intestines. 



CHAPTER 72. 

INTESTINAL DIGESTION. 

The structure of the intestines is like that of the 
stomach. There is the outer smooth, serous membrane 
(peritoneum), and the lining of mucous membrane to 
secrete digestive juices; and the muscular coating to 
push the food forward. 

The intestines are divided into the small and the 
large. The first part of the small intestine opens out 
of the stomach ; the upper part is called the duodenum. 
Here the food is acted upon by the three new secretions 
which are alkaline in reaction, the bile, pancreatic and 
intestinal juices. 

The pancreas reaches development when the child 
has cut eight teeth (incisors). The bile is secreted by 
the liver, the largest gland in the body. Intestinal 
juice is secreted by the intestines. 

The secretion of bile is not the only function of the 
liver. The bile is of a dark golden color and of bitter 
taste. The alkaline bile neutralizes the acid contents 
of the stomach as they flow into the duodenum and 
thus prepares the way for the pancreatic juice. 

The pancreatic juice is a secretion of the pancreas, 
or "sweet bread," a gland about the size of the hand 
lying behind the stomach. It is alkaline and contains 
a ferment called trypsin. This changes starch to sugar 
and breaks up the globules of fat into minute particles. 
The pancreatic juice also effects chemical changes in 
all classes of food, and prepares them for absorption. 
The proteids are peptonized; starch is changed into 
carbohydrates; fats into glycerine and fatty acids. 
There is scarcely any anmial which does not possess a 
secretion with an action similar to the pancreatic juice, 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 229 

while gastric digestion is wanting in some animals. — 
Buuge. 

The importance of intestinal juice lies in the large 
amount of carbonate of soda it contains. Its function 
is to neutralize the acids of the intestinal contents; 
and to emulsify the fats with carbonate of soda. As 
the food absorbs the hydrochloric acid in the stomach, 
and is mixed with the minute particles of food by the 
constant peristaltic action of the stomach, the car- 
bonate of soda in the intestinal juice neutralizes the 
hydrochloric acid. 

It is curious to observe that while the gastric juice 
is decidedly acid, the fluids with which the food next 
comes in contact are alkaline. Effects are produced 
by the mixtures of the various secretions which are 
poured together into the digestive tube, that would 
not result from a mere acid or alkaline secretion alone. 

After these juices have acted upon the chyme, it as- 
sumes a milk appearance and is termed chyle (kile), 
and passes on to the small intestine. This is about 
twenty feet long and from an inch to an inch and one- 
half in diameter. As the chyle passes through the 
small intestine it receives secretions which combine 
the action of all previous ones. 



CHAPTER 73. 

ASSIMILATION OF FOOD. 

Assimilation or absorption of food is performed in 
two ways, by the veins, — lacteal; and by the villi. 

The veins and lacteal are separated from the food 
by a thin, moist membrane. Through the pours of this 
the fluid food passes rapidly. This is called osmose 
of liquids. If two liquids of different densities are 
separated by an animal membrane, they will mix with 
considerable force. There is a similar law regulating 
the interchange of gases through a porous partition, 
in obedience to which the carbonic acid of the blood 
and the oxygen of the lungs are exchanged through the 
thin membrane of the air-cells. Many confuse assimi- 



230 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

lation and digestion of food, believing that digestion 
and assimilation are the same. Digestion, however, 
is one thing; assimilation is another. 

When the food is properly prepared or chewed and 
enters the stomach, the veins immediately begin to take 
up the water, salt, grape-sugar, and other substance 
that need no special preparation, substance Avhich 
saliva had previously prepared for immediate absorp- 
tion. This again shows the value of chewing properly 
and mixing with saliva ; for if the food had not been 
well-masticated this part of absorption would be missed 
or poorly done. The starch and the albuminous bodies 
are also absorbed as they are properly digested; this 
process continues along the whole length of the ali- 
mentary canal. 

In the. small intestines there are a multitude of tiny 
projection (villi), from the folds of the mucous mem- 
brane; more than 7,000 to the square inch, giving it a 
soft, velvety appearance. These tiny rootlets or cells, 
reaching out into the milky fluid, drink into their 
minute blood vessels the nutritious part of every sort 
of food. 

These have a selective power, certain villi absorb- 
ing certain food. If the food which they absorb is not 
in the chyle, they become starved for lack of nourish- 
ment and the body suffers. Bones, tissues and the 
blood cannot build up unless the proper materials are 
furnished to the lacteal and villi ; hence scurvy, rickets, 
and diseases of malnutrition. There is no absorption 
when undigestible food is eaten, or when a babe is fed 
improperly modified milk, for the obstinate curd does 
not vield the nourishment. 



CHAPTER 74. 

VITAL NECESSITY OF FRESH AIR. 

There are some things in nature to which we attach 
little importance, probably from the fact of their ap- 
parent simplicity. Pure air, pure water, good, whole- 
some, easily-assimilated food are essential to good 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 231 

health. Our lives depend upon the exercise of prin- 
ciples which we neglect to study and understand. 
Nature's laAvs are invariable, and the time comes when 
evil results follow a disregard for these laws. 

There is no necessity of death between birth and old 
age. It takes plenty of good food,, properly masticated 
before entering the stomach, then digested and assimi- 
lated, to make good blood which, after being circulated 
through the body is unfit for further use until purified. 
It is through the medium of the air, with its life-giving 
oxygen, that the blood is purified. 

Not only is pure air of value in preserving a state of 
health, but it also is an absolute necessity. The red 
discs in the blood are the air cells; they contain the 
oxygen so essential to every part of the body. Wher- 
ever there is work to be done or repairs to be made,, 
there the oxygen is needed. It stimulates to action 
and tears down all that is worn out. A person living 
an outdoor life requires more food than one staying 
indoors. 

An outdoor life, plenty of good food, has cured many 
cases of disease. There should be an abundance of 
fresh air in our homes at all hours, day and night, as 
the lungs are constantly giving out carbonic acid gas. 
Night air is no more injurious than that which we 
breathe during the day; as the oxygen is just as essen- 
tial at night as in the day, and more so, as it is a well- 
known fact that nature builds up during sleep and tears 
down during activity. How necessary, then, to have 
an abundance of fresh air at night, as the blood must 
have the purifying of the oxygen in order to build 
up our bodies I 

Mothers should teach their children to breathe 
through the nostrils. If the child finds difficulty in 
that, take it to a physician for an examination. (See 
'"Adenoids.") 

There is a big difi:erence between mouth breathing 
and breathing as nature intended, — through the nos- 
trils, then the air is moistened and warmed before 
reaching the lungs. Teach the child to breathe deeply 
to develop the lungs and chest. A child brought up 



232 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

to breathe deeply through the nostrils never will be 
stoop-shouldered or have a hollow chest, or take cold 
as easily, because the air is warmed before reaching 
the lungs. The whole body will show the effects of 
proper breathing. The lungs to be strong must be 
developed. When they are developed, no person will 
take cold easily. 

Many mothers will cover the face of a young infant 
and shut out every bit of air she can, for fear baby 
may take cold. An abundance of fresh air is essential 
to the youngest infant. Mothers must use discretion, 
of course, and harden baby gradually, and avoid 
draughts. Cold, moist air is injurious to a child. 

Accustom baby gradually; have the room well ven- 
tilated ; when baby is a few weeks old he may be put 
out of doors to sleep, his face and head shielded from 
draughts. Never put a baby outdoors to sleep on foggy 
or very windy days. Do not lay baby doAvn for its out- 
side nap unprotected from flies; or with its ej-es un- 
protected with parasol or buggy top. 



CHAPTER 75. 

USE OF WATER. 

The use of water in the treatment of disease Avas 
practiced 400 years before Christ. During the Middle 
Ages it fell into disuse along with many other rational 
treatments. From time to time men of more penetra- 
tion than their fellows tried to restore it to general 
use, but usually succeeded in rousing interest only 
for a short time. 

A German farmer named Priessnitz revived the Avater 
treatment with marvellous success in 1840. Nearly 
1,600 persons visited Graefenburg to be treated by him, 
coming from all parts of the world. Schools AA^ere 
started in Europe and America. Most important of 
all is the application of water to the skin. The amount 
of blood at the body surface can be increased or dimin- 
ished ; the speed of the current can be altered ; and the 
blood itself improA^ed. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 233 

In cases of fever, water is essential, botli internally 
and externall}^; and increases the flow of urine. A 
person suffering with an^^ disease should measure the 
volume of urine passed during twentv-four hours; and 
if at least three pints are not passed, enough water 
should be drunk to increase the amount to three pints 
or more. As some people do not care to drink plain 
water and find difficult}' in doing so, the juice of an 
orange or lemon mav be added, after sweetening. 

Water is essential in cleansing the system and in 
the digestion and assimilation of food. Few persons 
drink enough water. Fully one-third of the water we 
drink goes to the blood. A man weighing 154 pounds is 
100 pounds of water, or twelve gallons. If an abund- 
ance of water was drunk, few would be troubled with 
constipation, or kidney diseases; the blood would be 
increased in volume and the circulation improved. 

In overcoming disease, an abundance of water must 
be drunk to float off the waste matter, increase circula- 
tion of the blood, and arouse activity in the kidneys and 
every organ of the body. As our physical body is com- 
posed principally of water, and the cells composing the 
body are actually marine organisms, — capable of ex- 
istence only when surrounded by a saline solution, — 
it may be seen that Avater lies at the very foundation 
of our conscious life and manifests itself in our wants. 

People today have strayed far from nature's way; 
and life is not only shortened, but we are heirs to dis- 
ease and ill-health. It is the simple things and ele- 
ments in nature that are the weightiest and have such 
bearing on our health and happiness. How few have 
made an intelligent use of water as a matter of habit 
in their daily lives I In the rush through life it is 
too much trouble, apparently, to attend to things which 
can be put off. 

The importance of water to our physical make-up is 
remarkable. Physiology teaches that nearly one and 
one-half pints of water pass from the body daily in 
the shape of perspiration, unknown during the cooler 
months of the year or inactivity; but more noticeable 
during activity and the warmer periods. Perspiration 



234 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

resembles urine in analysis. The kidneys should pass 
off three pints of urine daily. Two quarts and more 
altogether are passed off, not to mention the important 
juices of the body, wherein water is likewise required. 
Xot only is the blood composed largely of water, but 
also the bile, gastric juice, pancreatic juice, saliva and 
other juices of the digestive system. Man may go 
without food for long periods; but deprive him of 
water and he dies quickh\ 

People get out of the habit of drinking the required 
amount of water; and the natural instincts are lost 
and perverted. As a result they can go without water 
undistressed. Nature resents the fact and is unable 
to furnish the proper amount of fluid she needs to carry 
on her wonderful work properly; and of course she 
takes it out of the body. The body and digestive organs 
become shrivelled, and we exist in an abnormal, un- 
healthy condition, heirs to all manner of disease be- 
cause the fluid was not supplied to float off the waste 
and poisonous accumulations of the system. Impover- 
ished blood, scant urine and constipation are natural 
results. 

Consider a moment. If one- third of the water we 
drink goes to the blood; if our bodies are so largely 
composed of water; if nature demands three pints to 
be passed off each day in shape of urine in order to 
conduce perfect health, as well as the amount which 
must be passed off as perspiration ; where does all this 
liquid come from if we do not drink at least two quarts 
of water a day? Our bodies are not made up of tea, 
coffee or beer; but rather nature's composition, water, 
which also has medicinal effects and aids digestion. 

No wonder we are sick and ailing, when nature has 
to take from our bodies daily her supply in order to 
work at all. We must give all that nature requires, 
and then we will be healthy, happy and of longer life. 

It is not a difficult matter to get the water habit; 
drink before breakfast, during meals, during the day 
and on going to bed. Every mother should get it and 
teach it to her children. The habit is formed easiest 
with the young, by adding the juice of half an orange 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 235 

and then sweetening. Children especially should drink 
lots of water because of their rapid growth, to float 
off the waste matter; as reproduction and decay goes 
on much more rapidly with them than Ayitli the adult. 
Children under six months of age seldom like water; 
their food contains such a large percentage that nature 
does not require an extra amount. But after six 
months, when the water in their food is decreasing 
eyery thirty days, the child should be giyen water often, 
at least eyery two or three hours. During hot weather 
babies and adults both need a much larger supply of 
water to cool the system, and also because of the in- 
creased amount of perspiration. During warm weather 
offer baby a drink once an hour and also giye it water 
during the night, for the little one often becomes thirsty 
and restless. 



CHAPTER 76. 

WATER CURES. 

Few appreciate fully the yaluable uses of the cold 
water pack. There are some who are afraid of it be- 
cause it requires cold Ayater. Yet in cases of pneu- 
monia, croup, sore or congested lungs or in relieying 
a cough, there is no remedy or mode of treatment that 
can giye quicker or more satisfactory results. 

The cold water pack first of all equalizes circulation 
in the lungs and relieyes congestion. Then, Ayhen a 
heayy cold has settled causing pain and distress, and 
there is almost constant coughing, the pack will bring 
relief in from 15 to 20 minutes, while pain from the 
congested condition will be relieyed within an hour or 
so. Many cases of croup haye yielded to it in a short 
time. Tubercular cures haye been effected more 
quickly and the cough, if there is one, relieyed, where 
the pack has been used eyery night and a healthy cir- 
culation insured. 

The pack is made by taking one yard and one-half 
of soft cheese cloth or real soft old muslin and folding 
to the required size, so the pack will come up well on 



236 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

the throat and across the chest and to lower edge of 
ribs. Dip this in cold water, — ice water is best — and 
press out most of the liqnid, being careful, not to wring 
too dry. Having it wet, but not dripping, apply it 
directly to the chest. Over the wet pack lay a large 
piece of dry cloth, folded into five or more thicknesses. 
This will prevent the clothing from becoming damp. 

In severe cases, or where the best possible results 
are required re-wet the pack in cold water every three 
or four hours. In the morning rub the chest briskly, 
and put on a chest protector made of several thicknesses 
of black taffeta silk, or a little alcohol may be rubbed 
on chest. This can be removed at night if the water 
compress is to be used. The black silk protector is 
not necessary unless there is tubercular trouble. It is 
best, however, in cases where cold is easily taken. 

INDIGESTION. 

In nearly every case of indigestion the stomach is 
the seat of a fermentation that necessarily prevents 
proper digestion. Xo stomach filled with wind or gas 
can properly care for its food. The gas must first of 
all be removed before further cures can be accom- 
plished. 

Gas can be removed by taking water into the stomach 
as hot as can be borne, about thirty minutes before 
each meal. From one to two cups are best, hot and 
not lukewarm, for lukewarm water frequently causes 
vomiting unless a little lemon or salt is added. Let 
the water be 110 degrees temperature or more, such as 
is commonly preferred in tea or coffee. 

In drinking the hot water it should be sipped. To 
each cup a generous pinch of salt should be added. 
This will not cause vomiting, but is exceedingly valu- 
able in treatment of constipation and indigestion, as it 
acts as a stimulant to the mucous membrane, to the 
absorbent vessels and glands, and thus becomes a tonic, 
promoting the appetite. It cleanses the system, wash- 
ing out the stomach, relaxing congested conditions 
there, and loosening up the mucus accumulations, dis- 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 237 

solving them so that thev mav be carried out of the 
system. 

DRIXKIXG AT MEALS. 

Do not be afraid to drink water at meal time. While 
the food should not be washed down with water, as 
then thorough mastication is prevented, inasmuch as 
saliva contains certain elements necessary for complete 
digestion, nevertheless one may drink between mouth- 
fuls. The water which is drunk at meal time is quickly 
absorbed in the circulation, as no special process of 
digestion is required for it before absorption. Diges- 
tion is not retarded thereb}' unless the water is ice 
water, in which case the stomach becomes chilled. Cool 
water should be drunk. 

Many have believed that it is injurious to drink 
water, tea or coffee while eating, believing that the 
gastric juice was diluted thereby. As water is the 
basis of our digestive juices, this theory never amounted 
to anything, as it had no basis or established fact to 
rest upon and has therefore been exploded. Our fore- 
fathers drank plentifully while eating, none of these 
fads and theories being then in practice ; and they were 
healthier and lived longer than we do at the present 
time. In these days we have left nature's ways and 
are full of theories, indigestion, constipation and 
disease. 

Water is essential in the digestion of food; and to 
drink at meal time is exceedingly beneficial in aiding 
digestion and building up the body. Some people do 
not have a large amount of gastric juice, and water is 
a valuable aid to digestion. The digestive juices are 
increased in amount by water-drinking. This is shown 
by the saliva. When one becomes thirsty the mouth 
will feel dry and one will often say, "1 can spit cot- 
ton." The saliva has a thick, white, frothy appear- 
ance. A few drinks of water quickly remedy this con- 
dition. Even horses, when very thirsty, will froth at 
the mouth. 

Many persons become so dry and thirsty during a 
meal that the food will not ^o down ; vet thev will be 



238 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

afraid to take a drink. Thirst is like liiinger ; the body 
demands it, and nature can be relied npon more safely 
than any theory of man. 



CHAPTER 77. 

VALUE OF THE BATH. 

The skin is an outlet for all excretions of the system. 
All useless matter is constantly thrown off from its 
external layer. In the purification of the system it is 
a well-known fact that a great many more impurities 
can be ejected through the pores of the skin than by 
any other means. There constantly passes a vapor, 
forming what is called "insensible"' iDerspiration. Ex- 
ercise or heat causes it to flow more freely, so that it 
can be seen. 

When men have gone for long periods without bath- 
ing, the pores have become clogged and the impurities 
have remained to poison the blood, the skin becoming 
scaly and of a peculiarly strong odor. There is con- 
stant reproduction and decay. When the body be- 
comes run down and thin, there are more impurities to 
be thrown off and there is less power to do this, as the 
dry, shrivelled cells and tissues are not able to carry 
on this function properly. The blood does not circulate 
so well, nor is it in condition to throw off the im- 
purities. 

The skin is called the third lung, because it gives off 
carbonic acid and absorbs life-giving oxygen from the 
air. One should bathe at least twice a week with Avarm 
water and an abundance of castile soap, so that the 
pores may be kept open to throw oft' all impurities, and 
so that the skin may absorb oxygen. A dash of cold 
water will send the blood to the vital organs, exciting 
them to more vigorous action and then returning to the 
skin, causing reaction and stimulation. Sea salt when 
added to bathing water is very beneficial, because it 
is stimulating. After the bath a good rubbing with a 
coarse towel is excellent. Should the bather be thin, 
a good massage with the hands is of good result. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 239 

A tiibercnlar patient should bathe with warm water 
and castile soap twice a week. He should not get into 
the bath tub, however. The body should not be stripped 
so as to become chilled. Bathe one part at a time, 
an arm, for instance ; bathe, lather with soap freely, 
rinse with clear, cool water, dry thoroughly, rubbing 
briskly but lightly with a towel. Then rub the arm 
with alcohol, cover it, and batlie some other part. 
Every other day take a plain sponge bath in the same 
manner, but instead of soap use sea salt in the water. 

Before beginning the bath, drink two cups of cold 
water so as to send some of the blood to the surface. 
Do not clog up the pores of the skin with lard, olive 
oil, or talcum powder so that oxygen cannot be ab- 
sorbed and carbonic acid gas and other impurities 
thrown off. 

When a person has died of a contagious disease, the 
hands of the one who handles the dead body should 
be greased with lard or olive oil so that the large pores 
of the hands will not absorb poisons from the dead 
body. These are given out through the pores and are 
so readily absorbed by the pores of the hands of the 
living person. 

CHAP TEE 78. 

TUBERCULAR TROUBLE. 

The only rational explanation for tubercular trouble 
is chronic inflammation brought on by a cold; and de- 
fective nutrition, which impoverishes the blood. 

In nasal obstruction of long standing, chronic in^ 
flammatory changes are sometimes induced in the bron- 
chial and pulmonary mucous membrane, which are 
exceedingly difficult to deal with, even after the origi- 
nal cause is removed. This has doubtless given rise 
to the popular idea that catarrh is the forerunner of 
consumption. The vast majority of cases of chronic 
inflammation of the larynx originate in diseases of the 
nose ; and many a winter cough is allowed to go from 
bad to worse because of the failure to recognize this 
relationship. 



240 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

In children who are disposed to become subjects of 
tubercular disease, the general character of the consti- 
tution often expresses itself in the physical conforma- 
tion. Sometimes the chest is narrow, or has a sunken 
appearance; sometimes the children are tall for their 
age and slightly made. The skin is often delicate and 
transparent-looking; the veins can be plainly seen; 
the face is oval and the features regular, often remark- 
ably good-looking. The complexion is usually clear, 
but not always; the face is sometimes covered with 
freckles. The nervous system is highly developed, and 
the general organization delicate. 

There are certain general symptoms which are com- 
mon to all forms of tuberculosis. In all of them nu- 
trition is found to suffer. The child or adult looks 
pale, loses spirits, becomes listless. In some cases the 
appetite is good; in others is capricious, and digestion 
is difficult and slow. The patient wastes with more or 
less rapidity ; the very life is sapped out ; he is feverish 
at night and often in the day ; is troubled with a fre- 
quent cough, in many cases a dry, hacking cough. 

A cough is usually one of the first signs to indicate 
any affection of the lungs. Nutrition is interfered with 
much more in some cases than in others, depending 
upon the form of the tubercular trouble. Kespiration 
(breathing), is usually increased in rapidity. Diar- 
rhoea is very common, and helps greatly to reduce the 
weight and strength of the patient. A careful watch 
must be kept over the condition of the boAvels, for all 
hopes of improving the nutrition of the body depend 
entirely upon the accuracy of the performance of diges- 
tive functions. Violent purgatives should be avoided. 
When the organs have been brought into a healthy 
state, cod liver oil and tonics become necessary. The 
oil, however, is injurious during any functional de- 
rangement of the alimentary canal, as there is not 
the strength to assimilate the rich oil ; rather it tends 
towards indigestion. 

TREATMENT. 

The principal object to aim at is the production of a 
healthier and purer blood. This requires a simple, 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 241 

digestible, nourishing and not irritating diet; together 
with plenty of fresh air. Medicines are almost worse 
than useless, for in every case where the patient gains 
in flesh a cure is efi:ected. The microbe or bacilli of 
consumption feeds only on putrid and decayed matter ; 
and is never found in healthy portions of the body. In 
order to expel this bacilli from the system, all the vital 
organs must perform their proper functions. 

One necessarily must begin with the digestive organs, 
which must be strengthened into proper action. The 
heart and lungs and skin likewise must be treated so 
that perfect circulation will be established. The food 
or diet must be regulated, and should consist of strong, 
blood-producing food. 

If directions here given are adhered to strictly, all 
cases of tubercular trouble in the first and second 
stages will be overcome successfully. Remember that 
a weak stomach cannot digest and assimilate strong 
food; neither can a strong stomach endure food that is 
too weak. Weak food cannot build a strong body. If 
the stomach has been weak for any length of time, 
and the body is much run down, the stomach has to be 
built up so that digestion will come easy, and strong 
food can be assimilated. 

Milk is one of the essentials of food for the tubercular 
patient and forced feeding. In the beginning of the 
treatment, during the first few weeks, let the exercise 
be very light, but let the patient staj^ as much as pos- 
sible in the air if the weather is nice. By resting in a 
hammock or on a lounge during the day and drinking 
all the milk possible the Avasting may be checked, the 
chief trouble in tuberculosis; and recuperation will 
set in. 

To establish normal circulation through the lungs 
and to relieve any soreness and the troublesome cough, 
use cold water pack as elsewhere directed. Keep the 
shoulders well back, and breathe deeply, infiating the 
lungs as full as possible at each breath. Exercise 
lightly with elastic back strap and light dumb bells 
to develop the muscles of the chest. Bathe two or 



242 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

three times a week in lukewarm water. (See ^' Value 
of the Bath.") 

The diet to use in overcoming this trouble is given 
under ''How to Grow Fat, Also Overcome Disease." 

SPITTUM. 

It has become an established fact that tuberculosis 
is catching. Too much care cannot be exercised in 
regard to the spittum. The patient should never spit 
into a hankerchief or on the ground or walks. AVhen 
the spittle becomes dry the wind blows the fine particles 
along with dust and it is inhaled by others; thus the 
germs of tuberculosis are planted. 

The patient should be supplied with plenty of paper 
napkins, or toilet paper, to spit in. Have a waste 
basket to drop the paper in when used; dump the con- 
tents of the basket into the fire for immediate burning. 
If the patient goes out for exercise, some paper can 
be carried in the pocket, and when used it should be 
destroyed upon returning home. 

The patient should have an individual drinking cup, 
also knife, fork and spoon, as well as separate towel 
and wash basin. Too much care cannot be exercised. 



CHAPTER 79. 

VALUE OP HYPOPHOSPHITES. 

Chemistry teaches us the exact nature of the elements 
destroyed by disease, and thus give a clue to rational, 
scientific treatment. There is need for food structure 
for muscle, blood, nerve, bone and many tissues. The 
need is complex in its chemical nature. All the ele- 
ments of the tissues have been wasted; there is one 
element which because of its vital importance and wide 
distribution throughout the economy must be especially 
provided for. This is phosphorus. 

Before a patient can reach convalescence, the germ 
or virus causing the disease must be removed from the 
system. Normal healthy blood is antagonistic to germ 
life, while impoverished blood furnishes a favorable 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 243 

condition for its development. Experience has proven 
that the remedy that fills the need is compound syrup 
of hypophosphites. 

This remedy imparts energy, resists the inroads of 
disease, and quickly enables the digestive functions to 
resume their normal power. There is no better tonic 
for the adult than Fellow's Syrup of Hypophosphites, 
taken one teasjjoonful in a wineglass of water before 
each meal and on going to bed. As some object to 
the taste, it may be disguised by taking the teaspoon- 
ful in two or more tablespoonfuls of pure orange juice. 



CHAPTER 80. 

LOSS OF APPETITE. 

Loss of appetite may be due to various causes. In 
some instances though the stomach be empty the desire 
for food may be lacking because of an abnormal con- 
dition which does not produce a craving. Then when 
an easily digested and assimilated food is taken there 
is a stimulus and we have what is termed a ''coming 
appetite." Nature seems to awake and the api3etite 
becomes excessive, as the starved body is craving to 
be built up. When it is built up to a certain point 
the excessive craving ceases. 

Many have said: "If I do not eat so much, I will 
not want or require so much." The reason is that a 
person will not be feeling then so well and therefore 
has lost appetite. The stomach naturally shrinks and 
the craving for food lessens; the body little by little 
becomes run down; sooner or later sickness or disease 
of some kind fastens itself on the body because the 
blood is impoverished. The appetite gradually be- 
comes smaller, on some days there being no desire 
for food whatever. 

The proper thing to do would be to take the case 
in hand at the very outset. Some remedy could be 
found to act on the liver, and a good cleaning out 
would soon restore the healthy appetite. A good bath, 
a brisk walk will often drive some of the sluggishness 



244 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

from the system. Some hot water sipped just before 
meals, or a good lemonade, will revive and stimulate 
an appetite if used long enough. 

In case of disease, or emaciation of the body, when 
the appetite has gone and there is no craving for sen- 
sible food, — rather for candies, pickles, etc., — the only 
thing to do is to give a food that can be readily assimi- 
lated; for, in cases of this sort nothing can be accom- 
plished until the appetite is revived. 

Excellent results towards arousing the organism and 
producing an appetite have been obtained by the use 
of prepared calomel tablets, followed by the large dose 
of castor oil and bismuth to aid in overcoming indi- 
gestion and irritation. The calomel or castor oil is 
not repeated unless there is diarrhoea; then the castor 
oil without any calomel may be taken every other day. 
Lemons or acid fruit or pickles should not be eaten 
for three days after taking the calomel. The pre- 
pared calomel has soda in it; but it is best to be on 
the safe side. The third day after the calomel, an 
excellent appetizer is lemonade, because it keeps the 
liver active and serves to act on the glands along the 
digestive tract. It may be taken one hour before 
meals; and if lemons catinot be obtained syrup of 
citric acid may be made into a drink like it. 

When there is little or no appetite the milk should 
be diluted just as in case with a child three or four 
months of age; and prepared with Dennos to make 
sure it will be assimilated. Let the patient drink of 
the prepared milk, warmed and served with a tea- 
spoonful or more of honey in each glass every hour 
until a craving for food or stronger milk is produced. 
Then begin to strengthen the milk part by leaving 
out a portion of water each day. Give raw beef juice, 
raw oysters and cream of wheat. As the stomach be- 
comes stronger, rare steak, potatoes, etc., may be eaten. 

Many believe that dieting means the starvation 
schedule. The true meaning of dieting is the selec- 
tion of easily-digested foods for building up the body, 
and eating them in abundance. 

Many children when four or five years of age be- 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 245 

come very thin and the walls of the abdomen are 
about one-half the thickness of those of a normal baby. 
The child may not complain, jet its body will be going 
down daily. After its appetite is capricious, desir- 
ing one certain article of diet. If the mother is wise, 
she will not permit the child to continue in this con- 
dition, or sooner or later disease and probably death 
will lay hold of the child. Let it be fed as directed 
elsewhere in this book and insist on its eating easily 
digested food. Give orange juice twice daily between 
meals. Massage the child's whole body every morn- 
ing, using a little olive oil or cocoa butter to prevent 
the skin from becoming irritated. Rub briskly, using 
a light stroke. The child's flesh will become hot if the 
strokes are quick and light. After the massaging, 
which should take about thirty minutes, bathe the 
body in lukewarm water and soap, to open the pores, 
after using the oil or cocoa butter. 

This massaging helps to build up the body, as the 
light friction brings the blood to the surface, arousing 
the cells to activity and to absorb the nourishment 
in the blood as well as throw off the impurities. It 
is frequently very difficult to get the child to drink 
lots of milk and eat abundantly of some of the foods; 
but sometimes a mother can succeed by promising the 
child some innocent pleasure, or something that it 
likes. Often a child will drink the milk if it is allowed 
to drink through straws such as are used at soda 
fountains. 



CHAPTER 81. 

HOW TO GROW FAT, ALSO OVERCOME DISEASE. 

There is much truth in the old saying, "Early to 
bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy 
and wise." If people would sleep more, drink more 
water and eat more food, especially of the easily- 
digested and assimilated foods, there would be few 
thin people and but little sickness ; and everyone would 
grow old gracefully, hale and hearty. 



246 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

Medicines almost universally fail to effect cures in 
cases of disease, especially where the patient is put 
on a scant diet. There are many prominent physicians 
who are abandoning medicines for simple, nutritious 
foods; and report more than ordinary success in the 
treatment of many forms of disease. Good nutrition 
(healthy digestion), is the only real preventative of 
disease. If disease had already taken hold of the body, 
the only remedy for complete recovery and health is 
mild medicine to assist nature in carrying out the 
poison from the system and then plenty of easily- 
digested food to build the system up. Those who have 
tried forced feeding in cases of stomach troubles have 
found it very efficient. Disease and weakness cannot 
get a foothold where there is plenty of good, rich blood 
to keep all parts of the body built up ; disease attacks 
the weak parts of the body. A strong stomach and 
an abundance of food will keep every organ healthy. 

When the stomach is weak and the body is thin, 
there is not flesh to conform to the bony structure. 
Build up the stomach and the body builds up likewise. 
If the body is kept up properly, — and there is no rea- 
son why it should not be so kept up, — people would 
not grow old so fast. 

"In youth repair exceeds waste, and hence the body 
grows rapidly and the form is plump. In middle life 
repair and waste are equal, and growth ceases. In 
old age, waste exceeds repair, and hence the powers 
are enfeebled and the skin lies in wrinkles on the 
skrunken form." — Steele. 

Under ordinary circumstances the foregoing usually 
takes place, but it is not always true and it has been 
proven that repair and waste may equal each other to 
ripe old age, when proper care is taken both in diet 
and rest. 

American people are troubled with weak stomachs 
and indigestion more than any other race. The Ger- 
mans, Swedes, Norwegians, etc., are the most ruddy 
and healthy. Those who first come to this country look 
healthy, ruddy and strong, with rosy cheeks, firm flesh 
and big appetites. After adopting the American ways 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 247 

and customs, eating the three regular meals a day, 
soon the ruddy appearance leaves, they lose to some 
extent the healthy or abundant appetite. 

In their own country these people did not belive in 
dieting, but were noted for their heartiness, eating 
from five to six times a day. One Swedish man, who, 
when he came here was robust, enjoying the best of 
health, became thin after he had been here a number 
of years and was almost a nervous wreck. He took a 
trip to Sweden for his health. While there he fol- 
lowed the customs of his country, eating as often as 
his countrymen ate. He began to gain in flesh and 
in a short time found he had completely recovered 
his health. 

Forced feeding, eating all that one can of easily 
digested food five or six times daily to overcome indi- 
gestion, tuberculosis and many other disease has been 
tried with marvelous success. A weak, sickly man or 
woman has been known to become strong and healthy 
under this system. The thin person naturally, has 
been made plump, with good, sound, firm flesh. 

Stockmen, poultrymen, in every field have found 
that it pays to feed animals of all descriptions all they 
can possibly eat. Poultrymen will feed fowls all they 
want and then use a stuffing machine to make the 
chickens even more full. Forced feeding is like every- 
thing else, — it must be handled with common sease so 
that perfect results may be obtained. 

In this age of hysterical ideas, many essential foods 
have been cast aside because of some theory. Some 
refuse meat, others salt, still others sugar. No human 
being can go through life well and properly-constructed 
throughout without these things, particularly the life 
and strength-giving element, protein or meat. Strong 
food is required to make and keep strong bodies and 
stomachs. After a child is two years old it should 
have meat properly prepared at least once a day; it 
demands it and craves for it. The child has wisdom, 
it has the natural longings and the demand to fulfill 
these instincts. 

^'Nearly all the evils supposed to result from exces- 



248 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

sive meat-eating in either children or adults have 
been proven to be largely imaginary. Uric acid, for 
instance, has little or nothing to do with the amount 
of meat in the dietary, nor on the other hand, has it 
positive connection with the causation of gout; but is 
probably one of the symptoms of an underlying error 
of metabolism or chronic infection which causes both 
of these conditions. Meat or protein of any sort has 
nothing whatever to do with causing Bright's disease, 
or any other form of disease of the kidneys. Xine- 
tenths of these are the after-results of some previous 
infection, like scarlet fever, pneumonia, tuberculosis, 
typhoid and even common colds.'' — Dr. Woods Hiitch- 
inson. 

As starch and sugar produce fat and heat, all those 
wishing to gain in flesh should eat plenty of sugar 
(See "Sugar"), and starchy foods. In digestion the 
starches are changed to grape sugar before they are 
assimilated. In Turkey the ladies of the harem take 
honey with thick gruel to produce flesh, honey pos- 
sessing excellent values being strictly a product of 
nature. Honey and milk are always mentioned to- 
gether in the Bible. 

In thin bodies or any diseases, there is always a 
certain amount of weakness of the stomach and intes- 
tines, also an impoverishment of the blood. Success 
lies in the way the start is made and the method used 
to build up a strong stomach and body, overcoming 
all disease and creating a body with firm, healthy 
flesh to conform to the bony structure. A weak stom- 
ach cannot handle properly strong food, or there would 
be no more serious case of indigestion or relaxed and 
Aveakened stomach than there was before. The blood 
becomes more impoverished, hence the thinner, weaker 
body. Neither does a strong stomach thrive on a 
weak food, or the above results would likewise mani- 
fest themselves. 

When there is difiicult digestion there is absolutel}^ 
no assimilation ; the digestive organs are strained and 
overtaxed, and the stomach is weaker than before. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 249 

Therefore the easih-digested foods are and must be 
used to build up the body rapidly. 

Wheu the patient is much troubled Avith acid stomach, 
or if there is much mucus or gas as in cases of 
indigestion and disease, the mucus and poisons should 
first be removed from the system so that the organs 
may work without being hampered more than neces- 
sary. 

Very satisfactory results have been obtained by the 
use of prepared calomel tablets, one tablet every fifteen 
or thirty minutes until six are taken. In three hours 
after the sixth calomel tablet is taken (See ''Use and 
Abuse of Calomel), take two or three tablespoonfuls 
of castor oil (See ^'Castor Oil"). The calomel acts on 
the liver, arouses it to activity; and the poisons are 
thrown oft'. The large dose of oil will thoroughly clean 
out all the mucus and poisons and is necessary. It 
should be taken one hour before eating, but neither it 
nor the calomel should be repeated. 

To heal all irritations and sooth the digestive tract 
as in cases of tuberculosis and other diseases fifteen or 
twenty grains (fifteen grains equals a half teaspoonful 
of the powder) of bismuth should be given; but 
if there is no dirrhoea, ten grains or nearly one-fourth 
of a teaspoonful of the powdered bismuth after each 
meal is best. It may be used eight or ten days, depend- 
ing on conditions. 

There must be a rebuilding or repairing of every 
organ of the body. First the blood must be enriched 
and built up so that it can repair the waste places; 
and an abundance of fresh air is needed To purify the 
blood. (See "Value of Fresh Air.") When the body 
begins to gain in flesh, there is an increased activity 
in every organ and tissue of the body and in the skin. 
A new lease on life is obtained ; reproduction and decay 
take place more rapidly; and more impurities are 
thrown off through the skin. (See "Value of the 
Bath.") The blood not only carries away the waste 
of the organs, tissues and cells, but also removes the 
impurities with which it was filled. The waste pro- 
ducts are cast out in four ways, through the lungs, 



250 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

by breathing out carbonic acid gas, through the bowels, 
by casting out the waste feces, through the skin, where 
a thousand impurities are thrown off, and through the 
kidneys. 

Along with proper food comes water to dissolve the 
food and carry it through the circulation ; and to float 
off waste matter, to lubricate the tissues and cleanse 
the system as well as increase the flow of urine. Like- 
wise it cleanses the body as it opens the pores of the 
skin. 

The foods required either to gain flesh or overcome 
disease are first milk ; then cream of wheat ; fresh raw 
beef juice (directions for preparation given elsewhere) ; 
potatoes; vegetables; honey; eggs; raAv oysters; cus- 
tards and rice pudding; whole wheat bread; lemon or 
orange juice. 

Many on taking milk complain of biliousness; this 
is overcome by the use of honey and orange or lemon 
juice. If there is constipation the juice of one or 
two lemons daily in the form of lemonade is excellent 
to act on the liver and prevent biliousness. Some claim 
that one or two teaspoonfuls of honey strained will 
relieve headaches or biliousness when milk is taken 
freely. The honey is very beneficial, nourishing, sooth- 
ing, healing and fat-producing. 

Some have failed to get satisfactory results from 
milk such as they expected, because it was not prepared 
to suit their stomachs or taken often enough to pro- 
duce results. Any human being from the frailest, 
Aveakest infant up to those suffering with tuberculosis 
and other disease, the aged man or woman, the thin 
person who wishes to gain in flesh, can gain in strength, 
grow in flesh and health by the proper use of cow's 
milk. The necessary elements, or three kinds of food, 
— nitrogenous, carbonaceous (sugars and fats), and 
the minerals — which the adult obtains, are all in that 
perfect food, — cow's milk, which is freighted with 
soothing, healing, life-giving elements. It contains 
albumen, one of the most important of foods. Albu- 
men is demanded by the newly-born baby, and remains 
an indispensable factor in the diet as long as life lasts. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 251 

It is a constituent of every important organ of the 
body and forms the principal ingredient of the blood. 
It will effect a cure when drugs are worse than useless. 
(See "Milk as Food for Infants"; "Milk as a Cure for 
Disease"; also "Discovery of the Real Substitute.") 

Under natural conditions cow's milk becomes acidu- 
lated by the secretions of the stomach and forms into 
such dense curds that they resist digestion. Digestion 
is difficult; and where there is any weakness of the 
stomach, it is prolonged and assimilation is arduous. 
As the rapid building up of the body is absolutely 
necessary in order to overcome tubercular trouble and 
other diseases, old age or a thin body, this essential 
food must be prepared so that digestion and assimila- 
tion can take place without taxing the feeblest system^ 
without effort, or without waste of energy anywhere. 

The curd of the milk must be completely broken up^ 
so that the milk when taken into the human stomach 
will remain uniform. There will then be no difficulty, 
and rapid building up will follow as a natural con- 
sequence. 

Dennos Food thoroughly and efficiently breaks the 
curd into tiny flakes. It also contains phosphates 
of wheat, so valuable; also cerealin, which changes 
starchy foods into grape sugar. In using Dennos the 
milk is brought to the boiling point, killing the germs 
of the milk. It might be added that cooked milk is 
much more easily digested than raw milk, besides 
being very soothing. 

When the patient is badly run down and emaciated 
in body, the full milk may be too strong, and must be 
diluted with water. Then when the body begins to 
gain and the stomach has become stronger, a little of 
the water may be left out each day until the full 
strength of the milk is being used. The amount of 
water to use in diluting the milk must be decided by 
each individual. Half milk and half water might be 
tried; and if suitable should not be strengthened for 
ten days or two weeks. Then gradually a little of the 
water may be left out. In some cases the milk may 
have to be diluted even more; in some cases not so 



2o2 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

much. Let the feeding be prepared with Dennos as 
-directed with the food. 

The adult who wishes to gain in flesh and whose 
stomach is able to digest the full milk prepared with 
Dennos will of course lav on flesh much faster, because 
the stomach is stronger. Take the full milk and pre- 
pare in a double boiler, to prevent it from sticking; 
sweeten to taste; add some lime water when the pre- 
pared milk has become cold. When milk is prepared 
iN'ith Dennos it should be seasoned with sugar and salt ; 
and afterward can be made into an egg-nog or milk- 
shake with pineapple juice, cocoa, or custard. 

Oyster stew may be made, preparing Dennos without 
sugar, but adding salt, butter, Dennos and oyster juice. 
When it is done let the drink be removed from the stove 
and raw oysters dropped into the hot milk. In this 
manner the oysters are not cooked, and hence are self- 
digesting, and make blood faster than any other food. 

Prepared milk or plain milk should be taken warm, 
so as not to fatigue the stomach, by requiring it to 
take nerve force for warming the milk to proper tem- 
perature for digestion. Cold food retards digestion 
l)j driving blood from the veins in the stomach. 

No adult will gain unless a certain amount of milk 
is drunk daily. Start on three pints of milk a day. 
On rising in the morning, drink a glass or large teacup 
of the warm milk, and every two hours during the day 
drink a glassful. Best result are obtained when one 
or more teaspoonfuls of strained honey are taken with 
each glass. In a week or ten days begin to take more 
milk every two hours, perhaps one glass and a quarter. 
Keep on increasing the amount gradually until at least 
one pint is drunk every two hours during the day. 

In severe cases, drink milk once or twice during the 
night, where a more rapid gain is desired. Do not 
lengthen the time between drinks. As the stomach and 
gastric capacity increases and the body gains, the appe- 
tite frequently increases, but even where there is no 
desire for food, the milk should be drunk. 

Every morning for breakfast the patient should eat 
a pint of prepared cream of wheat — not in a heavy, 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 253^ 

thick mush, but palatable and light, — Avith either 
cream or milk and plenty of sugar. Soft boiled eggs, 
coddled or poached eggs on crisp toast, bacon, and — 
if the stomach is strong enough — rare, jmcj steak, 
broiled or fried in a hot skillet without grease (grease 
causes indigestion), may all be added. Take raw beef 
juice (directions for making elsewhere) freely. Mut- 
ton, vegetables, peas, potatoes and asparagus may be 
eaten. 

A cup of hot water with a pinch of salt (See "Use 
of Water") may be sipped one-half hour before the 
regular meals. This will aid digestion and remedy 
cases of constipation. Once or twice during the day 
about sixty minutes before time for the milk, lemon- 
ade should be drunk. If lemons cannot be obtained, 
citric acid should be used, as it is made from the juice 
of lemons or limes and has a sour taste. Citric acid 
has the effect of lemon juice, stimulating the liver to 
activity and improving digestion and nutrition by 
stimulating the glandular secretion of the intestinal 
tract. It is valuable in cases of constipation. If the 
liver needs stimulation, but there is diarrhoea present, 
good results are obtained by diluting very weak the 
acid and taking in smaller doses. An ordinary dose 
of syrup of citric acid is one teaspoonful to one table- 
spoonful. Syrup of citric acid may be obtained at 
any drug store. 

Twice during the day beat up an egg and add to a 
glass of milk, first warming the milk and then adding^ 
the egg afterward. If desired, a teaspoonful of burnt 
brandy may be added, or any flavoring. 

Cod liver oil is excellent in building iip the body,, 
when the stomach has become strong enough to digest 
it. If taken during functional derangement, there is 
not the strength to assimilate it, and it but increases 
the indigestion. But when the stomach has become 
stronger, the oil is very beneficial. Begin with a few 
drops three times daily two hours after each regular 
meal. The stool should be examined for undigested 
oil. Place the stool in water and the oil will rise on 
the water if it has not been assimilated. If the few 



254 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

drops are digested, add a drop or two more each day 
until a teaspoonfiil can be taken. 

In building up the body by means of a forced diet, 
remember a certain amount of outdoor exercise is essen- 
tial, else the system will become clogged, as it were. 

Whenever the body is run down, a good tonic is a 
big help to restore vitality. Fellow's Syrup of Hypo- 
phosphites is an all-round good tonic. (See ^'Value 
of Hypophosphites.") Tubercular people should take 
some good iron tonic. 

When the adult wishes to discontinue dieting as 
given above, he should not cease all at once, but in 
the same manner that the amount of milk was in- 
creased every two hours. Lengthen the time between 
the drinking of milk from two to three hours. Instead 
of one pint, take three-fourths of a pint; and so on 
until only half a glass is drunk; then leave off alto- 
gether, eating three good, hearty meals per day, eating 
plent}' of rare, juicy steaks, mutton, vegetables, etc. 
Always drink an abundance of water, that the volume 
of urine may be at least three pints per day. Salt, 
sugar and fresh air are always essential. 

Milk should be used to a certain extent every day 
of our lives. The things which will make us well will 
also keep us well if we use them properly. When the 
body has reached the required weight, it may be kept 
there indefinitely if the proper care is taken and the 
diet maintained for a certain length of time. 

Along with this diet plenty of exercise must be 
taken, so the digestive organs may be kept in good 
condition and the blood circulate properly. 

Deep breathing through the nostrils should not be 
omited, breathing through the nostrils warms and 
moistens the air before being taken into the lungs. By 
moistening the air in this way the moisture is then 
not taken from the lungs. Do not neglect to drink 
the required amount of water, so that circulation may 
be improved and to help carry off the waste products 
of the system through skin, kidneys, etc. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 255 

CHAP TEE 82. 

COLDS^ BRONCHITIS^ PNEUMONIA. 

^'No cold or fever in a child is so trifling that it 
should be neglected. Nine-tenths of all serious dis- 
eases and disturbances of childhood begin with the 
symptoms of a common cold. Common colds cause 
more damage to hearing than all the other diseases put 
together ; and many injuries to the heart, kidneys, 
liver and nervous system." 

Baby's cold should not be neglected, as serious re- 
sults have followed lack of care. Too many mothers 
regard a cold as something that will take care of itself. 

A child's chest should be well protected all through 
infancy and childhood, as bronchitis, pneumonia and 
croup carry off many children each year. It mothers 
would take proper precaution, many little lives would 
be saved. ''Prevention is better than cure." One of 
the best chest protectors is made from two or three 
thicknesses of black taffeta silk, shaped to the child's 
chest and fitted well up on the neck, worn next to the 
skin. This makes an excellent preventative of croup 
and colds on the lungs. 

If baby's nostrils are stopped up, from a cold, warm 
some olive or sweet oil, lay baby on its back, and let 
its head hang across your lap. With a teaspoon or 
medicine dropper let about five drops of the warm oil 
run into each nostril. Let baby remain in this position 
until it has breathed the oil well up into the nostrils. 
An infant's nose may be blowed by laying a clean 
handkerchief over its mouth, and the mother placing 
her mouth to the infant's mouth and blowing forcibly 
into the child's mouth will force the mucus from the 
nostrils. 

For a cold on the lungs or bronchial tubes, a cold 
water pack or hot application will bring relief; but 
unless it is mild, a physician should be consulted. 

Keep the bowels open. A bad cold always upsets the 
whole digestive tract; the passages Avill be a greenish 
color, accompanied by some mucus and often diarrhea. 



256 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

There will be gas or wind in the stomach and intestines 
and often vomiting. Some babies will lose appetite, 
and occasionally will be colicky until the cold is cured. 
If baby is feverish give a drink of water often and bathe 
the body in tepid soda water. Do not make a habit of 
greasing baby's chest for a cold, or baby is apt to take 
a fresh cold. Do not let baby sit on the floor in winter, 
as there are drafts. 

BRONCHITIS. 

The majority of babies will have an attack of bron- 
chitis when teething. The dampening of the clothing 
covering the chest by the free secretion of saliva in 
drooling babies will cause this. Until the child has 
finished teething it should wear a bib over the under- 
skirt. This can be made of stork rubber sheeting, 
the edges bound with tape. As soon as the outside 
bib which most babies wear becomes damp, it should 
be changed. By the use of black taffeta silk, rubber 
bib and outside bib, babj^'s chest ought not to become 
damp. Black silk gives better results than other colors ; 
the black dye may possibly have something to do with it. 

Excellent results have been obtained by the follow- 
ing treatment for bronchitis : 

Give castor oil, one tablespoonful in teaspoon doses 
ten minutes apart, one hour before or after feeding, as 
oil given just before or after feeding causes vomiting. 
If the bowels are loose, or there is colic, give bismuth 
subnitrate after the oil has acted. (See "Sore Mouth" 
for directions how to give bismuth subnitrate.) If 
baby is colicky, weaken the food, but let it eat as usual 
if it desires to do so. Instead of greasing with lard 
or oil as is customary, put on a thick coating of anti- 
phlogistine next baby's skin on its chest as directed 
on the medicine. Change in eight hours for fresh 
coating. The warm antiphlogistine will bring relief 
and comfort, and lessen the coughing. 

In severe attacks, treat the child as given under 
"Pneumonia." 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 257 

PNEUMONIA. 

In cases of piieumouia, or severe cases of colds, bron- 
chitis or soreness of the lungs, the following treatment 
has been successful. Children having chronic bron- 
chitis, profound stupor and inward spasms, or pneu- 
monia have found quick relief. 

The treatment consists of calomel prescription, hot 
hops, and careful treatment. The calomel prescrip- 
tion includes calomel one-half grain, carbonate of soda 
one grain, sugar of milk eight grains. This is to be 
made up into eight powders. 

One powder is given every half hour until all are 
taken. In two hours after the last powder, a big 
tablespoonful of castor oil in teaspoon doses five or 
ten minutes apart is given. After the oil has acted, 
one-fourth of a teaspoonful of bismuth is given in each 
feeding of milk. The calomel preparation acts on the 
liver, arousing it to action, throwing off accumulated 
poisons, arousing the functions to activity. Castor oil 
carries off the calomel and mucus, as well as poisons. 
The bismuth heals all irritations along the digestive 
tract. 

During the above treatment applications of hot hops 
are applied to the child's chest and lungs. This treat- 
ment relieves the congested condition through the chesty 
equalizes circulation, restores the action of the skin 
and organs of the body ; and besides being stimulating, 
relieves all soreness and tightness through the lungs. 

Take two separate pieces of flannel large enough to 
cover the chest and back; hollow out in ^he neck. 
Cover the flannel with a thick coating of hog's lard 
and turpentine. Take three tablespoonfuls of lard, 
three teaspoonfuls of turpentine, mix well together and 
spread on the two pieces of flannel. Put one piece of 
the greased flannel next to the chest and one on the 
back of the chest, letting the greased part lie next the 
skin. Pin the two pieces together Avith safety pins 
at the shoulder. This greased flannel is to be left on 
the chest and back until the treatment is finished, when 
it is to be removed. The greased flannel protects the 
chest from drafts in changing the bags of hops. 



258 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

Have ready four bags of dry hops, each large enough 
to cover the chest well. Heat two bags of hops in a 
hot oven and place one bag on top of the greased flannel 
on the chest, and one on the back on the greased flannel. 
Over the bag on the chest place a fold of heavy flannel 
to keep in as much heat from the hops as possible. 
Change the bag of hops on the chest every fifteen min- 
utes ; the one on the back every thirty minutes. 

Keep cold, wet cloths on the top of the head and 
just over the forehead. Change or redampen often to 
keep as cold as possible ; bathe the face with cool water 
every fifteen or twenty minutes and offer a drink of 
cold water frequently. Place a hot water bottle at 
the feet. This is to draw the blood to the lower ex- 
tremities and keep it away from the head. 

Do not let cold air blow on the patient, or let a draft 
of air through the room. 

Keep up this treatment for two hours; no longer. 
Then sponge off the patient from head to foot with 
lukewarm water, having the room where the bathing is 
done nice and warm. When bathing the patient expose 
small portions of the body at a time, an arm, leg, 
chest or back. Dry thoroughly. Put on dry clothing, 
as the clothing worn during the treatment will be damp 
from perspiration. 

After bathing and drying, cover the chest and back 
by the means of black taffeta silk jacket, two thick- 
nesses, previously made. 

Give the patient some nourishment and generally a 
nice, long sleep will follow. When giving the above 
treatment the patient of course is in bed well covered 
if weather is cool. This treatment acts on the order of 
a bake oven treatment, by opening every pore in the 
body, and increasing the perspiration and circulation, 
and acting on the organs of the body. 

CHAPTER 83. 

VIRTUES OP CASTOR OIL. 

Castor oil is another excellent remedy if used prop- 
erly. Some object to it; but good results in cases of 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 259 

diari-hoea or cholera infantum cannot be obtained with- 
out it. All babies under one year should have a table- 
spoonful as the proper dose. Children over one year 
may have from one to two tablespoonfuls. 

Give castor oil in teaspoonful doses, five, ten or fif- 
teen minutes apart. Never give just before or after 
feeding, lest vomiting occur. Give either one hour be- 
fore or after eating; the first is preferable; it cleans 
out the poisons without interfering with any partly- 
digested food, takes effect quickly and may pass the 
food out before digestion takes place if fed after eat- 
ing, even bringing away white milk. 

Many mothers may be amazed at the amount sug- 
gested, but this will give a satisfactory result, and it 
is absolutely necessary to get what is causing the 
trouble out of the system. The big dose will clean out 
the stomach and bowels alike, bringing away the 
poison ; and the oil is soothing and healing to the irri- 
tated stomach and intestines. A small dose of oil 
will move the bowels, but will not clean out, which is 
so necessary. It will gripe and move the bowels with- 
out removing all the poisons. The desired results are 
not obtained; merely a bowel movement. The table- 
spoonful dose will thoroughly and efficiently clean out, 
giving nature a chance to heal the irritations; and 
will not gripe like the small dose. 

When there is poison along the digestive tract, the 
movement brought by the oil will cause soreness, of 
course, of the buttocks, literally taking the skin off. 
After the oil is given and before it has time to act, 
grease well the buttocks with vaseline or cocoa butter, 
w^hich will in a large measure prevent the buttocks from 
being scalded. 

A tablespoonful will move the bowels about three 
times. If they move more, it shows that there is more 
poison and mucus to come away. The big dose of oil 
should be repeated the second day; then by the use 
of bismuth the irritation may be healed. 



260 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

CHAPTER 84. 

BISMUTH SUBXITRATE. 

Bismntcli subnitrate is a lieavv white powder, is a 
mineral and does not dissolve. It is given either as a 
powder or in mucilage of acacia. It has a soothing 
influence on the digestive tract and is a valuable, harm- 
less remedy. It is used in nearly all cases of indiges- 
tion, stomach irritations, bowel trouble and diarrhoea. 

Calomel, castor oil and bismuth are all necessary for 
the successful treatment of cholera infantum and diar- 
rhoea. Bismuth alone will cure irritable stomach and 
intestines when given for sore mouth, if there is cause 
to believe the trouble is caused from the stomach; also 
will cure sore buttocks. 

It is best to give first a big dose of oil to remove 
mucus and all accumulations, so that the bismuth can 
act on the stomach and intestines free from the thick, 
heavy mucus which would otherwise prevent the bis- 
muth from taking effect quickly. Bismuth turns the 
stools drab or black when it takes effect, if not, it 
comes away in a white powder and does no good. After 
oil has taken effect it must be given in doses of ten 
grains or more (one-fourth of a teaspoon). 

Often bismuth fails to give results because the stom- 
ach* and intestines are heavily lined with mucus; but 
more often the dose given is too small to take effect 
quickly enough to check diarrhoea. 

Bismuth should be continued at least three days 
after all symptoms of trouble disappear ; for if a small 
spot is left in the intestines unhealed the trouble will 
break out again, as irritation spreads very rapidly over 
the mucus membrane. 

The dose : warm the milk, dampen the bismuth with 
some of it, and put in the feeding. Shake the baby's 
bottle often to prevent bismuth from settling, so that 
baby will get the bismuth, or the bismuth will settle 
in the bottle and baby will fail to get it, as it settles 
very rapidly. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 261 



CHAP TEE 85. 

CALOMEL USE AND ABUSE. 

There are very few remedies which have the value 
of calomel, yet there are people who have become pre- 
judiced against this most excellent remedy, simply be- 
cause in times past and at the present time it has 
not been used rightly. Calomel is an active medicine, 
potent for evil as well as for good, still however good 
a remedy may be, it loses its value if not used correctly. 

Calomel acts on the liver and hence arouses activity 
in the organs of the body and does work no other 
medicine has ever accomplished. In cases of chronic 
diarrhoea, cholera infantum, etc., there is no remedy 
that can act as does calomel in saving the lives of 
children (when used rightly), lives which could not 
otherwise have been saved. In cases of meningitis, 
pneumonia, colds, teething, brain fever, inflammation 
of the stomach and bowels, and all cases of diarrhoea, 
it acts like magic ; a child can be brought out of a pro- 
found stupor by its use in a few hours. It can be given 
to young babies with excellent results in cases of regur- 
gitation, vomiting and diarrhoea. 

In the prescription here given the calomel is subdi- 
vided by soda and sugar of milk, and can be given with 
perfect safety to a baby a few weeks old or one of 
three or four years. The amount of calomel is very 
small, but gives satisfactory results if given by the 
following method.. 

One powder should be given every half hour until 
six are given. In severe cases of diarrhoea or cholera 
infantum all the powders may be given, but six gen- 
erally are sufficient. In two hours after the sixth 
powder, give one large tablespoonful of castor oil by 
teaspoon doses five or ten minutes apart, one hour be- 
fore or after feeding. No physic gives the results of 
castor oil. After calomel a physic must be given w^hich 
will clean out thoroughly both stomach and bowels, 
or the effect of the calomel will be lost and the remedy 



262 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

had better not be given. In rare cases citrate of mag- 
nesia is often used where the child cannot possibly take 
the oil. When this is given, instead of waiting two 
hours after the calomel, as castor oil, wait three and 
one-half or four hours after the last powder, as citrate 
of magnesia is acid. Citrate is lemons, but magnesia 
is an alkaline. There is nothing that gives the results 
of castor oil. Orange juice or any acid fruit should 
not be given for two davs after calomel is taken so as 
to be sure and on the safe side, although soda is sup- 
posed to counteract effects. 

After the oil has acted, give bismuth subnitrate in 
every feeding until all irritations are healed. (See 
directions for giving castor oil.) When giving the cas- 
tor oil, if the bowels move more than three times, do 
not give the bismuth until the next day, and on the 
next morning repeat the oil. After it acts commence 
the bismuth. 

All mucus and poison should be out so the bismuth 
can take effect quickly. The stools should begin to 
turn dark the third day ; and will if large enough doses 
are given. If too small doses of bismuth are given 
there will be no appreciable effect. 

The prescription for calomel follows : Calomel, % 
grain; soda, 1 grain; sugar of milk, 8 grains. To be 
made into eight powders. 

Directions : One powder every half hour until six 
or the eight powders are given ; to be followed by castor 
oil. 

Xever give calomel unless followed by oil or a physic 
which will clean out accumulated mucus and the calo- 
mel. The neglect to give physic after calomel is the 
cause of ill results. The calomel will not give satis- 
factory results, where there is indigestion, diarrhoea 
and other troubles, unless bismuth is used after physic 
has acted. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 263 



CHAPTER 86. 

IXFAXTILE PARALYSIS. 

Treatment of paralysis in children, from any cause 
whatever, can only be given in one way, that is by 
proper massage and exercise. 

Once or twice a day bathe the limbs with soap and 
warm water; then dry. Immediately apply warm 
crude cod liver oil, rubbing in a little at a time; and 
rubbing the limbs one by one quickly and lightly so 
as to bring the blood to the surface. Work the muscles 
of the legs with the fingers. Spend from ten to fifteen 
minutes on each leg. It will be tiresome Avork at first 
but it pays. 

Crude cod liver oil is better than any other kind. 
Leave the oil on the limbs from one treatment to an- 
other, then bathe to open the pores so that the fresh oil 
can be absorbed. A tablespoonful should be rubbed 
into each limb. 

A spring jumper which will permit the child's feet 
to touch the floor is one of the best exercises. Compel 
the child to jump by moving the jumper up and down 
yourself. Leave it in the jumper for at least ten 
minutes at a time. 

A walker should come next; soon the child will be 
able to bear the weight of its body on its limbs a little 
at a time. Keep up the massage until the child can 
use the jumper and walker freely. 



CHAPTER 87. 

MEASLES. 

Children under six months of age seldom have 
measles. From that time on to about fifteen years they 
generally have whooping cough, bronchitis, scarlet 
fever and chicken pox. When taking measles, they will 
often have chills, vomiting, fever and catarrhal symp- 
toms, cold in the head being accompanied by a cough. 
The fever increases until about the fourth day. An 
eruption appears ; first it is seen just beneath the skin ; 



264 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

then the surface of the skin becomes covered with red 
eruptions. Eruptions remain at their height for a full 
day, then gradually fade away. The temperature grad- 
ually lessens. 

At the height of the disease the glands of the neck 
and features are swollen ; and the eyes are sensitive to 
light and affected with a profuse watery discharge. 
The whole digestive tract becomes irritated ; often there 
is diarrhoea. The stools are very offensive; the breath 
foul. The body often gives off a peculiar odor. 

If the eruptions do not come out well, put the patient 
in a warm bath; or soak the feet in a tub or boAvl of 
warm mustard water; wrap patient well in blankets 
and give warm drinks, then put to bed still wrapped 
in blankets. Put warm irons and hot water bottles 
around him; and cause a perspiration. Soon the skin 
will be covered with the eruptions. Gradually remove 
some of the covers and take away the irons and hot 
water bottles. 

It is essential in order to get the poisons out of the 
system, for the eruptions to come out well. Keep them 
■out for three days, being very careful that the patient 
does not take cold. Measles will go in, and pneumonia 
or bronchitis generally results when cold is taken, and 
often prove fatal; but if cold is not taken, there is no 
need for uneasiness. 

Keep the patient in bed, and the room dark on ac- 
count of the eyes. More than one child has had to 
wear glasses after an attack of measles because the 
•eyes were not properly cared for. 

When calomel and castor oil are given the results 
are much better in throwing off the poison. The stools 
will be full of mucus. Give castor oil every other day, 
one tablespoonful as directed. Because of the inflamed 
conditions of the digestive tract, let the diet be one of 
easily digested foods ; but let the child eat the amount 
it wishes. 

For the diarrhoea or inflamed condition internally, 
bismuth subnitrate will give results. Do not allow the 
child to go out of doors during the first week after be- 
coming convalescent (well), for fear of receiving cold. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 265 

CHAP TEE 88. 

HARNESS FOR PROTRUDING EARS. 

The beauty of many men and women is spoiled by 
ears which protrude from the head like wings. This 
defect could have been remedied during babyhood by a 
little harness made of soft w^hite tape, which is placed 
on baby's head at night and at intervals during the day. 




This harness holds the ears close to the head and 
will not injure the ears. Instead it aids them in grow- 
ing as they should. The little harness may be made 
at home and should follow the general lines of that 
shown in the above illustration. 



CHAPTER 89. 

INHERITED SYPHILIS. 

The dread disease of hereditary syphilis may first 
show itself in the child at three different periods: be- 
fore birth, at birth or after birth. If before birth, it 
occurs usually from the fifth to the seventh month of 
intra-uterine life. The child dies and is born dead 
before the proper time. If at birth, the symptoms are 
usually very severe. The child, although born alive is 
emaciated and may linger for a few days, but there is 
little hope. If after birth, it may be apparently healthy 



266 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

but between a few weeks and seven months the symp- 
toms manifest themselves. 

Inherited syphilis in cases where it shows itself be- 
fore birth is a frequent cause of miscarriage. When 
labor has repeatedly occurred prematurely, the mother 
should go to her physician for proper treatment, that 
the lives of succeeding children may be preserved. 

When the symptoms appear at birth, the child 
usually looks shivelled. It snuffles and cries hoarsely. 
A few hours after birth an eruption generally appears 
and becomes filled with a liquid or corruption and 
bursts, leaving angry-looking sores. These eruptions 
are usually on the palms of the hands and soles of the 
feet. The infants generally die. 

Although appearing at birth, the symptoms are not 
always as marked as those just described; the child 
may be in fairly good flesh and recover. If the disease 
appears some time after birth, the child is born appar- 
ently healthy, often plump and seems strong, present- 
ing no symptoms by which the most practiced eye could 
detect the disease lurking in its system. Sometimes, 
however, there is something which seems to hint at 
the approaching outbreak although offering no distinct 
symptoms of the disease. 

After a time varying from two weeks to seven 
months, evident symptoms begin to appear. Frequent- 
ly there is an obstinate wakefulness at night, uneasy 
and fretful. During the day it is more composed. In 
almost all cases one of the earliest signs is snuffling. 
Soon the mucous membrane, lining the air passages, 
becomes swollen; but as long as the child breathes 
through its mouth there is not much snuffling. When 
it takes to breast or bottle, its difficulty of breathing 
through the nose is apparent. Each inspiration is 
accompanied by a snore. 

The skin of the syphilitic child is dry and often scaly. 
The cry is hoarse and pitched high. Diseases of the 
bones are common, but frequently the growth of the 
teeth does not suffer. A peculiar form of paralysis 
has been seen occasionally. 

The disease may be transmitted from parents to 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 267 

children throngli influence of either father or mother. 
In the child the degree of severity of the taint is in 
proportion to the brevity of time which has elapsed 
since the first appearance of symptoms in the parents; 
and to the stage at which the disease had arrived when 
conception took place. The father may alone be suf- 
fering from the disease and may impart the taint to the 
child without affecting the mother. If the mother 
escapes direct infection by the father, she may bear 
syphilitic offspring without herself falling victim to 
the disease. 

All children born with unmistakable signs of in- 
herited syphilis should be put under care of a good 
physician; and the parents should be treated to avoid 
bearing any more children with the taint. This has 
been done quite successfully, even after the mother had 
conceived. The child has been treated through the 
mother, so that at birth the symptoms were not severe. 



CHAPTER 90. 

WORMS 

There are several varieties of worms found in chil- 
dren, — the small thread worm ; long, round worm ; long 
thread worm. The common tapeworm, the bookless 
tapeworm and the broad tapeworm are not as common 
in children as the other three varieties, wiien the chil- 
dren are under six years. 

The small thread worm and long round worm are the 
most common in children. The thread worm occupies 
the cecum (in large intestine), but passes readily into 
the rectum. The long, round worm inhabits the small 
intestines, but often passes into the stomach and other 
parts of the alimentary canal and has been passed at 
stool. All varieties of worms obtain admission into 
the human body at the mouth. 

The ova of the thread worm are introduced through 
fruit and other articles of food. All fruit should be 
washed and wiped before it is eaten. Drinking of 
impure, unfiltered water is the ordinary method where- 
by long, round worms are introduced. Persons living 



268 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

in districts where shallow wells are common seem to 
be particularly^ subject to parasitic worms in the 
bowels. The bookless tapeworm obtains admission 
through such as pork, rabbit. No salt meat as bacon 
or ham should be eaten raw, but well-cooked. Some- 
times there are some worms present, but no symptoms 
appear until they become numerous. 

SYMPTOMS. 

The presence of worms is usually accompanied by 
an unhealthy condition of the alimentary canal ; which 
continues after the worms have been expelled. As a 
result nutrition becomes impaired and the child growls 
thin. Certain special symptoms are associated with 
different varieties of worms. 

The small thread Avorm or pin worm causes violent 
itching at the anus (entrance to the bowels). This is 
most marked toward evening. A common symptom is 
a desire to go to stool often, the child straining with- 
out any results. The irritation caused by the worms 
may cause diarrhoea. 

The long round worm causes pain more or less severe, 
situated in the neighborhood of the navel at one or 
two points in the abdomen. Sudden vomiting is apt 
to occur if the worm passes into the stomach. Some- 
times it is expelled by the mouth. It gives rise to very 
nervous symptoms, sometimes causes convulsions. The 
face of the child who is much affected by the round 
lA^orms becomes pale, the lower eyelids dark and some- 
times lead-colored; the pupils often dilated. There 
is itching of nose and anus. The upper lip often 
swells ; the breath has a foul smell. At night the child 
is restless; during sleep it starts, twitches and grinds 
its teeth, often awakening in a panic. There is often 
a dry cough. Frequently the stomach is swollen and 
liard. The appetite is capricious, having at one time 
a constant craving for food, at other times refusing 
to eat. 

Children often pass worms at stool, which by some 
is considered the only real proof of their existence in 
the body. Worms are seldom passed at stool unless 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 269^ 

there are manv in the body. In the treatment of 
worms, it is not sufficient to expel them from the body. 
for so long as the unhealthy condition of the alimentary 
canal exists, they may be reproduced again and again. 
First expel the worms : then restore the canal to a 
healthy condition. 

To expel worms different measures must be employed 
according to the variety of worms to be attacked. The 
small thread worm, which inhabits the lower bowel, is 
easily reached by an injection; and is therefore best 
treated in this manner. Give a tablespoonful of castor 
oil one hour before meals every second day until all 
trace of the worm has disappeared. Every night at 
bedtime give the child two injections, first with warm 
soap suds, then with the Qtiassia infusion afterwards. 

The suds will cleanse the colon so the Quassia will 
have a better effect. Lay the child on his right side, 
give slowly the warm injection ; let it retain the water 
as long as possible. When the point of the syringe is 
withdrawn, hold the buttocks tightly together by means 
of a dry cloth: this will help the child to retain the 
water. After the water has been expelled at stool, 
inject the Quassia infusion. This is made as follows : 
Quassia chips, one ounce : common salt, one tablespoon- 
ful : one pint water. 

Put the Quassia chips and salt in the pint of water 
and soak together over night. Then warm the water 
and inject after the warm suds has been expelled. 
Have the hips much higher than the head, always 
greasing the anus and the point of the svringe first, 
so that there will be no diffictilty in inserting the point. 
Hang the syringe low. or abotit four feet above the tloor. 

The most effective remedy for round worms is san- 
tonin, which is given best with calomel, followed next 
morning with castor oil to carry off' both the dead 
worms and the santonin. This is best given by a 
physician. 

After all traces of either variety of worms have dis- 
appeared the irritated condition of the alimentary 
canal is readily healed by the use of bismuth subnitrate. 
ten grains after each meal. Give the child a glass of 



270 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 



milk between meals and the bismuth after each glass 
of milk. The oil and bismuth will be effective in check- 
ing any diarrhoea. Feed easily-digested food and build 
up the body, so the worms will not breed again. 



CHAPTER 91. 

INFANTILE MYXOEDEMA OR CRETINISINI. 



Before Treatment. 




VERA^ AGE FIFTEEN YEARS^ BEFORE TREATMENT 

Infantile myxoedema or cretinism is a condition 
which usually occurs during the first year after birth. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 



271 



It may be endemic, or sporadic, the former occuring 
in districts where goitre is endemic; and almost in- 
variably in children whose parents have been afflicted 
with goitre. Usually about 75 per cent of these cretins 
are goitrous. Occasionally a child is born with a 
small goitre, and very rarely the goitre may be so 
large as to impede delivery. In these rare cases there 
is reason to believe that there is an ante-natal infec- 
tion of the fetus through the mother. In by far the 
largest number of cases, however, the goitre does not 
appear until the second year of life, that is, after 
weaning, when the infection is supposed to have been 
post-natal. 



After Treatment with Van Yleck's Extract. 




VERA, AGE SEVENTEEN YEARS^ TWO YEARS AFTER TREATMENT 



272 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

The cause of sporadic cretinism has not been entirely 
settled. A certain number of cases may be due to the 
absence of the thyroid gland, but such a condition of 
good nature must be very rare. The presence of syphi- 
lis, tuberculosis, or cancer in the mother no doubt has 
a great deal to do with causing cretinism in the off- 
spring; first, in the resulting depraved condition that 
exists in the child; and secondly, in the tendency to 
the formation of an inflammatory condition of the 
thyroid gland. Kheumatism and alcoholism in the 
parents may be another factor in the case. 

The fact that cretinism is usually brought about by 
a post-natal thyroiditis, in which the gland's growth 
had either become arrested or partially destroyed, is 
shown by the following facts. First, children have 
been found whose development both mental and phy- 
sical was normal until a few months after some sick- 
ness. After that time they ceased to grow, and symp- 
toms of cretinism appeared. Secondly, in some cases 
even though the child had been fed on mother's milk 
cretinism developed, due to the fact that the mother's 
thyroid gland was very inactive while the child was 
nursing. 

After all, no matter what the cause may be, it is 
known that there is a lack of development, together 
with an inactivity of the thyroid, supra-renal and pitui- 
tary glands, whose secretions are so necessary to the 
development of the body, both physically and mentally. 
These three glands are known as the adrenal system, 
whose functions according to Dr. Sajous are inter- 
dependent upon one another. 

In cretinic children the thymus gland instead of 
becoming atrophied, often persists ; while the pituitary 
gland sometimes enlarges. These conditions are un- 
natural. The thyroid gland should functionate early, 
for at puberty there remains nothing more of the 
thymus gland, it having completely disappeared. 

The thymus gland has been called the "gland of 
mystery." It is a mystery no longer. Kesearches have 
clearly demonstrated that it is one of the fountains 
from which childhood receives the elements essential 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 273 

to normal development. It is largest at second and 
third years of life. Then it slowly disappears, until 
the fifteenth year, when it is almost entirely gone. 
Traces, however, have been found of it even in old age. 
Cretinism is a chronic disease. There is a varying 
degree of mental and moral tor j) or, an arrested grow^th 
of certain bones and often a peculiar malformation of 
the head and body. In some cases there are charac- 
teristic phases of the disease at birth; but in the ma- 
jority there are seldom any symptoms until the child 
is about six months old. Then the following may be 
observed: The child is weak; its body is often fat 
and puifed out; the skin generally of a brownish or 
grayish tint; the head large; the fontanel and sutures 
are open; the eyes are languid and expressionless. 
Earely the child cries, and it appears indifferent to 
sound. The lips are generally thick, the nose short 
and broad, the neck short and thick, often presenting 
signs of goitre. Growth is slow, the teeth being cut 
late. 

A cretin rarely exceeds much over four feet; many 
are only three feet in height when reaching adult age. 
A cretin has a slow, waddling gait, the whole body 
being sluggish. 

Cretins are divided into two classes. The simple 
cretin has no intellectual faculties and is sometimes 
deaf, having no power of speech but making queer 
noises when anything is desired. The semi-cretin is 
able to learn a trade and do different kinds of work. 
There are some who have grown to full stature, but 
are said to be somewhat simple or foolish. Often a 
cretin of some intellect is called a dwarf. About two- 
thirds of all cretins are goitrous. The thyroid gland 
is not properly developed, or is absent. 

The disease was once thought to be incurable; but 
by experiments it has been found otherwise. Monkeys 
were first used, the thyroid gland being removed. They 
showed a decided effect, finally losing their minds and 
dying. Having ascertained thus the effect caused by 
the removal of the gland in monkeys, the thyroid of 
sheep was tried, placing it under the skin of several 



274 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

patients suffering from myxoedema as an experiment. 
The patients showed immediate improvement. This, 
hoAvever, was only temporary and as a constant suc- 
cession of such operations was not feasible, some other 
method of supplying the thyroid had to be devised. 

There lived in Kansas City, Mo., a Mr. Van Yleck, 
who had a son who was a cretin. When the child was 
born, April 20, 1882, it was pronounced a fine, healthy 
child. He weighed thirteen pounds and . was well 
formed. The boy was the second child of strong, 
healthy parents, and gave promise of becoming a pow- 
erfully-built man. His development was rapid until 
the end of the second year, when there was a change 
and he ceased to grow. He was then two feet ten 
inches high; but from that time until May 19, 1895, 
eleven years later, he grew no taller. 

A change in his mental and physical- condition soon 
became apparent; he became dull and lifeless with 
sad, distressed expression; and his mind assumed a 
condition of imbecility. In the spring of 1895 he went 
into a decline which must have resulted in early death. 
His father consulted the best physicians, but none of 
them could encourage the slightest hope. The des- 
perate father obtained the raw thyroid gland of a lamb 
and gave his son one-fourth of a lobe in a raw state. 
The gland was given every third day. In ten days a 
marked improvement was noticeable. His puffed feat- 
ures and abdomen were reduced and he began to as- 
sume better shape. 

An obstacle was met which threatened to stop all 
future treatment. The raw gland nauseated him so 
that he refused to take it and when compelled to do 
so, immediately threw it up. Mr. Van A^leck deter- 
mined not to lose hope, but to find some means of con- 
tinuing the treatment for the sake of his boy. For 
several days he studied over the problem. He reasoned 
that the result of the gland must be due to some active 
principal contained in it, and he resolved to find it. By 
careful and patient experiments he obtained what he 
thought to be it. He gave his son half a grain of this 
three times a dav. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BA13Y 'Z i D 

The results were marvelous. He began to act like 
other boTS, and grew six inches in six months after 
having grown none in eleven years. He recovered his 
mental and physical strength. A father's love had 
promi)ted the study and determined investigation re- 
sulting in curing the boy of what all physicians had 
theretofore pronounced incurable. He not only brought 
his own son back to life, but conferred a boon upon 
thousands of others w^ho are afflicted; and health and 
happiness have been brought into many homes. 

The treatment of cretinism consists in the adminis- 
tration of the active principles derived from the glands 
of young, healthy sheep. These are nature's own phy- 
siological food, supplying the necessary elements for 
the proper development of both the body and mind. 
Such gland extracts are used as can supply the dis- 
eased glands which are responsible for the mental and 
physical perversion. In prescribing gland extracts, 
one must not only use the proper combination, but also 
products that are of a uniform and definite strength. 

The Van Vleck Gland Extract Company has an 
oflSce in Kansas City, Mo., and also one in Portland, 
Ore. There is a skilled physician in charge who studies 
each case and prescribes the use of the glands to suit 
the needs of the individual. 



CHAPTER 92. 

VACCINATION. 

In some states vaccination is compulsory. Children 
are not permitted to attend school until they are vac- 
cinated. Could there be a more glaring outrage per- 
petrated than this infringement on the rights of the 
people ? The American people is supposed to be a free 
people, yet loving fathers and mothers are compelled 
to submit the young forms of their promising children 
to this monstrous, repulsive practice, under the penalty 
that unless they comply, their children shall be denied 
the right of an education. 



276 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

There are big financial interests involved in the 
manufacture of vaccine virus and it is a paying in- 
dustry. Some members of the medical profession en- 
dorse it because of the revenue — not all of them, or even 
a majority of them believe in vaccination for revenue, 
— but a large number of them do. 

You speak of pure blood to build up the body ; then 
inject into the blood this pus-filth I Samples of the 
virus or pus-filth have been examined and found filled 
with foul germs. Many who are vaccinated contract 
tetanus, or lock-jaw, blood-poison, and many other dis- 
eases. To inject this filth into the blood of a child 
is a crime. 

Directly in point is the following clipping from a 
current newspaper: 

FATHER OBJECTS TO VACCINATION. 

PASSAIC, N. J., March 13, 1912.— Because he re- 
fused to permit his young daughter, Dorothy, to be 
vaccinated, Health Commissioner George Michaels was 
arrested today on complaint of the board of education. 
He will make a test case of the matter. 

Health Commissioner Michaels said: ''My father 
died of smallpox after he had been vaccinated; my 
sister was made a cripple for life because she was 
forced to be vaccinated; and I will move out of the 
state before I will submit my child to such treatment." 

The vaccine people claim they can manufacture pure 
vaccine. Can rotten pus, taken from a pox sore, be 
pure ? They also claim that since vaccination has been 
made compulsory there have been few cases of small- 
pox. The truth of the matter is, smallpox is dying 
out like some of the other diseases which were so 
common years ago. But our blood is being poisoned 
and our lives wrecked by the outrageous practice. 

"When I was a surgeon in the army, during the Civil 
war, — the only woman surgeon in the army, — I found 
that vaccination brought many diseases. Erysipelas, 
skin diseases and others followed it. It is a thousand- 
fold worse for children to have diseases vaccinated into 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 277 

them than for them to have smallpox," said Dr. Mary 
Walker before the New York State Legislature. 

Little Hettie was a beautiful, healthy child; there 
was no sign of any disease anywhere about her perfect 
body. There were some mild cases of smallpox in 
her vicinity and of course she had to be vaccinated. 
The vaccine virus took exceedingly well, but Hettie 
began to fail. It required months for her to get over 
the effects, but soon her parents noticed that her body 
was Avasting away. She continued to grow thinner and 
thinner; her hair began to fall as the flesh seemed to 
cling to her bones. Her eyelashes came out; her eyes 
became so weak she Avas compelled to leave school. 

In a few years she was a living, walking mummy in 
appearance. She flnalh' became totally blind; her 
life, which had been of such great promise, was com- 
pletely wrecked. WheneA'er she Avent out people glared 
at her and turned their heads. She liA'ed to an adult 
age, but neA^er was any better. 

There is probably not another case that will equal 
this one, but many \i\es have been ruined and many 
liaA'e died. In St. Louis alone a short time after com- 
pulsory A'accination, seA^enteen persons died of lockjaw. 



CHAPTER 93. 

DEA'ELOPMEXT OF THE BOY. 

It is not within the province of this book to touch 
but lightly on the subject of adolescence. Important 
as that period in life must be, still it belongs to a 
physical field peculiarly its own ; we will not trans- 
gress there but a moment. 

Let the parent remember that it is a period of grave 
and important changes, both physically and mentally, 
for both girl and boy. Let them remember that upon 
the outcome will depend much of the child's future 
happiness, the child's final disposition. Let them re- 
member that thousands of boys and girls reach the 
road of ruin every year during adolescence, usually be- 
cause the parents have been at fault. 



278 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

Patience, self-control, and great love, — these will 
guide the parents through this trying period success- 
fully. Thrashings will not; loud words will not; fre- 
quent chidings will not. The period at best can only 
extend over a few years, and then from the chrysalis 
will emerge the handiwork of the father and mother. 
Let it be a noble man or woman. 

This thought, applicable to both girl and boy, is 
finely expressed in the following quotation from ''Edu- 
cation" : 

''There is a period in the development of a boy when 
he is particularly sensitive to compulsion. It comes 
to most boys at about fourteen years of age, or in the 
years of early adolescence. It is as though the half- 
conscious man within them would throw off the 
method of childhood and assert its dignity as a free, 
independent agent. 

''Woe to the teacher or parent who lays ruthless 
hands upon this new-born giant, and attempts to wrap 
it in the swaddling clothes of infancy. The boy has 
turned into a man in a night and intends to choose 
his OAvn way and do his own bidding. It is the period 
of "I will" and ''I won't," and a sullen, dogged spirit 
is lurking within, which the wise teacher or parent 
will hesitate to provoke. 

"But because man is something better than an un- 
reasoning brute, we may be very sure that along with 
and even deeper and more mighty than the dogged 
spirit back in the soul of that boy there is a heart of 
love and consciousness, or a conscience to which we 
may appeal with the utmost confidence. The newly- 
awakened giant can be won and led if he cannot be 
forced and driven. I 

'•What a long step has been taken when i)arent or 
teacher perceives these facts, and acts accordingly! 
Most problems of school discipline center here. Most 
successes and failures in day school and Sunday school 
are explicable in the light of this psychology. Most 
homes where there are adolescents and anarchy might 
become havens of peace and good will, if these facts 
were understood and the family life squared with them. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 279 

'"Love is the greatest thing in the world. The domi- 
neering of one personality over another personality is 
one of the smallest and meanest. The personality of 
the adolescent boy is a real entity to be reckoned Avith. 
It has heard the command, "let no man despise thy 
youth." 



CHAPTER 94. 

THE SEX PROBLEM. 

In recent years there has been an awakening among 
fathers and mothers in regard to the instruction of 
their children in sexual matters. This is one of the 
wisest and best advancements that has taken place in 
this century. It is indeed time for people to lay aside 
false modesty and look the matter squarely in the face ; 
for the health and happiness of our boys and girls is- 
more to us than any preconceived ideas or undue fas- 
tidiousness. 

Future generations will be healthier and happier only 
if the parents of those generations, the boys and girls 
of today, are taught their true relationship and the 
science of reproduction. They will be called upon by 
their Creator to give an account of their bodies : they 
must be taught proper care. They must get the right 
perspective on matters of sex early in life, so that they 
may grow up wholesome and free from shame. 

Boys and girls will surely ferret out these things 
as best they can if they are not told ; and many a ruined 
boy and girl could have been saved if they had only 
known. Experience was their teacher: the lesson was 
learned too late to be of much benefit : but their parents 
must be held accountable. 

The great cry heard from those in middle life is^ 
"Oh, if I had only known about these things when I 
was young." Habits are easily broken in youth. Chil- 
dren are sent to school and taught almost anything 
desired. Boys are taught to work, study, and play, — 
all essential things, it is true; but of the marvelous 
reproductive powers of their bodies, or how to regard 



280 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

them, they are kept in ignorance; thej are not even 
taught the names of these various organs; they are 
obliged to get them by stealth from doctors' books, 
quack medicine leaflets, or from the street gossip. They 
have a natural curiosity to know; our Creator meant 
for it to be known. 

When girls speak of possible motherhood they are 
hushed, as if speaking of something indecent. If they 
ask questions about sex or sex relationship, they are 
met with averted eyes and shame-flushed cheeks ; their 
questions are avoided, the subject changed. Some- 
times their parents go so far as to lie to them ; thereby 
undermining their faith in father and mother. There 
should, there must be a perfect understanding between 
parents and children. 

When parents meet the questions of their children 
with shame, how can a child be expected to come openly 
to them and make known sexual difficulties? There 
is one pitiful case worth remembering, of a boy four- 
teen years of age, who had been suffering greatly; he 
should have been circumcized when a child, but his 
mother either did not think it necessary or was ignor- 
ant. Things went from bad to worse; the boy was 
ashamed to tell his parents of his trouble. Finally 
he got into such a condition that he could not Avalk, 
and a physician was called; the boy was found to be 
in a bad condition; an operation was necessary. The 
suffering and injury that the lad w^ent through was 
heart-rending ; and the sad part was that it could have 
been avoided if his parents had only done their duty. 

There are many good books on sexual subjects. It 
is the duty of the mothers to read them and teach their 
contents to their children. When the boys and girls 
are old enough, they may read the books themselves. 
This is the only solution to the difficulty. Xo bride 
should ever be taught by her husband their sexual 
relationship. Her mother is the proper person, yet 
only too often is it otherwise. 

There is another consideration. Masturbation, and 
consequent idiocy, and other disastrous sexual diseases 
can only be prevented in most cases through the early 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 281 

instructiou and love of the parents. The child should 
be taught from infanc}^ not to handle its reproductive 
organs; to be clean-minded, clean-hearted, and whole- 
souled. 

The Creator made both male and female and they 
were good in His sight. He surely had an all-wise 
purpose in His creation. 



CHAP TEE 95. 

RECIPES. 

Constipation: This remedy should not be given a 
child under two years of age. Take one pound of figs; 
one pound raisins ; two cups or one pint of New Orleans 
molasses ; ten cents' worth of senna leaves. Steep 
leaves in one pint boiling water until liquid is a dark 
brown. Grind raisins and figs in meat-grinder and 
place over the fire with molasses and senna tea. Let 
all cook together until it is consistency of jam ; then 
put in a quart jar. Dose: One teaspoonful at night 
before retiring. 

Cream of Tartar: It is said that cream of tartar 
will increase flow of mother's milk; also prevents dry- 
ing up when baby is sick. Take as much cream of 
tartar as will stay on end of teaspoon three times h day 
for tw^o w^eeks; then two times a day for two weeks; 
then once a day as long as desired. Cream of tartar 
is said to improve the quality of the blood. 

Cure for Earache: There is scarcely any pain so 
hard to bear or difiicult to cure as earache. This recipe 
has given good results : Take wine of opium (not laud- 
anum), one dram; oil of anise, ten drops. Put in 
ounce bottle and fill with oil of sweet almonds (sweet 
oil will answer). Directions: Shake well. Drop from 
three to five drops in a spoon and warm slightly then 
drop in ear. If not relieved, repeat dose in ten min- 
utes. A warmed flannel, or hot water bottle placed 
against ear give relief. 

Cure for Rupture: Take one dozen strictly fresh 
eggs ; boil in the shell for ten minutes so yolks will be 



282 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

hard. Set off the stove and let eggs become cold. 
Remove yolks. Take twelve yolks, mash them with 
fork, put into hot skillet and stir constantly over hot 
fire until yolks become nearly black, when an oil will 
separate. Pour oil in bottle and cork. Every morning 
after baby's bath, rub rupture with the oil. In baby's 
band sew pocket and insert wooden button; or button 
padded with cotton placed in pockets of the band helps 
to hold rupture in. 

Croup: Place a cold water compress on chest, and 
well up under chin. (See "Water Cure for Colds.") 
In severe cases two drops of turpentine on a little 
sugar gives quick results; but turpentine is hard on 
the kidneys, so do not give more than two drops. Two 
teaspoonfuls of lard, as hot as can be swallowed with- 
out burning, is excellent. 

Nose-hleed — Sneezing: A very effective remedy for 
either sneezing or nose bleed is to take a piece of stiff 
paper like writing paper or piece of envelope, fold into 
a narrow strip about one-fourth inch wide and nearly 
two inches long ; press this strip up underneath upper 
lip between lip and gums. Allow to remain in that 
position pressed firmly up toward nose for at least 
half an hour. 

Foreign Siihstanee in Xose: Children often push 
olive seeds, peas, beans, etc., up into the nose, and 
parents are at a loss as to how to dislodge them. An 
efficient mode follows : Stop ears with tips of fingers 
and press finger against nostril opposite one which is 
obstructed by foreign substance. Having child open 
its mouth, mother may dislodge obstruction by taking 
full breath and putting her mouth to child's mouth, 
blowing with full force. Obstruction will fly out. The 
air passages or passages which air could pass out are 
stopped up, and air blown by mother into child's mouth 
forces out obstruction. 

Barley Water: When barley water is used for diar- 
rhoea, if lime water and some biTrnt brandy are added 
after it has become cold, better results are obtained 
than when plain barley water is used. Take one heap- 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 283^ 

ing desert spoonful of prepared barley, three teaspoon- 
fiils of sugar, one-fourth teaspoonful of salt; mix into 
a thin paste with a little cold water ; add three-fourths 
of pint of boiling water ; place on stove and cook for six 
minutes, stirring constantly. Cool by placing pan of 
barley water in pan of cold water. When cold, strain 
and add two ounces of lime water and two tablespoon- 
fuls of burnt brandy. Make twice daily, as barley 
sours quickly and will remain sweet only from six ta 
eight hours. 

Burnt Brandy: Take best grade of brandy, pour 
some into saucer. Take piece of brown paper, twist it 
and light with match; hold burning paper to top of 
the brandy in the saucer, and as soon as the brandy gets 
hot it will light, making a clear flame. Brandy will 
burn until the alcohol is out ; it is then ready for use. 
One or two teaspoons of the burnt brandy may be added 
to a cup of water, sweeten and taste. Do not give to 
baby too strong. Burnt brandy is excellent when 
vitality is low and infant needs a stimulant. 

Coddled Egg: Place egg in enough boiling water to 
cover it ; immediately remove from Are, so that is cools 
gradually. The egg thus slowly and thoroughly cooks. 
It should be left in water about six minutes. 

Beef Tea: One pound of lean beef; cut in small 
squares; allow to stand in one pint of cold water for 
one hour. Then heat not about 160°. Squeeze meat 
through cheese cloth by twisting hard; and season 
with salt. 

Beef Juice: Take one pound of round steak cut 
thick; heat a skillet hot; do not put in it grease of 
any kind; when the skillet is hot, lay in the steak, let 
it fry just a moment, then turn it over and let it remain 
for one or two moments. Kemove from fire. Juice 
may be pressed out by means of lemon squeezer or 
meat press. Season with a little salt. It may be 
warmed slightly by placing the cup in warm water. 
Do not allow juice to coagulate when warmed. 

Beef J Ulcere old Process: Beet juice made by cold 
process is more nutritious and economical than bv the 



284 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 

above formula. One pound of chopped or ground round 
steak; add one cup of cold water and pinch of salt. 
Cover and place in cool place for six or eight hours. 
Squeeze juice out by twisting in a large square of heavy 
cheese cloth. 

Glutton Broth: Take one pound of lean mutton, 
chicken or beef; take some cracked bone, cut in small 
squares; one pint of cold water. Heat gently, allow- 
ing to simmer three hours. Strain and add enough 
water to make one pint. When cold remove all fat. 
Warm and feed. 

Whey: Take one quart fresh milk; remove cream; 
add to skim milk one tablespoonful of liquid rennet 
or one junket tablet. Place milk in double boiler, 
warm slowly. When milk becomes solid, cut in all 
directions in small pieces. Warm to 150° ; stir while 
doing so. The curd which has been broken up will 
adhere in large chunks. Kemove chunks and there will 
be about twenty ounces of clear whey. Cool and put 
on ice. 

Dextrinized Bread: Cut bread into thin slices ; place 
in pan in the oven, leaving oven door open ; let bread 
remain for about five hours or until browned all 
through. Koll with rolling pin, until fine. This is 
excellent for baby to eat, in broth or milk; and more 
easily digested than fresh bread. 

Incontinence of Urine: Frequent urinating is caused 
by some irritation of the bladder, but occurs most fre- 
quently in male children. When foreskin is too long 
over glans penis, child should be circumcized. Any 
child suffering from incontinence of urine should be 
taken to a physician. The following recipe is excel- 
lent : Fluid extract belladonna, 30 min. ; compound 
tincture of cardamous, one-half oz.; enough water to 
make four ounces. Dose: Teaspoonful twice daily. 
Give one about 4 o'clock in afternoon and one at bed- 
time. After improvement reduce to one teaspoonful 
at bedtime. 

Burns — Scalds: Make a salve of castor oil or lin- 
seed oil and common baking soda and apply to the 



THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BABY 285 

burn. Most even^one knows what relief is brought to 
a burned finger by the use of soda and water. 

Soda and castor oil give best resudts; when the oil 
is absorbed add more oil to the soda, it draws out the 
fire and gives quick relief. Olive oil is so quickly 
absorbed that it is not as good as castor oil. 

La Grippe: Lemons will break up a severe cold or 
grippe in about twentj-four hours when used as fol- 
lows : Take the juice of one lemon in a coffee cup of hot 
water and one teaspoonful of sugar every fifteen min- 
utes until six or eight lemons are taken. There will be 
a profuse perspiration. Be careful not to take cold 
afterward. 



DEC 10 1912 



